Complications
by Twibite
Summary: Bella is Edward's best friend, yet she can't help but feel something else for him. Edward has been dating Tanya for 7 months, but how does he really feel? Set in senior year. AH.
1. 11:11 PM

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or any of the fabulous characters.**

**Hey, this is my first fanfic. I'll see how it goes before I continue!**

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My name is Isabella Swan- Bella for short, which was much preferred. My life is pretty simple at the moment. Well apart from one slight problem: I'm completely in love with my perfect and brilliant best friend, Edward Cullen.

It had taken me 17 whole years to realise this slight problem. Problem? Only because it is obvious he doesn't feel the same way, and if I told him I would muck up our friendship. And I'm not being modest when I say he doesn't like me, because he has a girlfriend of 7 months. Sure, Tanya was nice, we got on, but I would always be jealous of her. Always had been since the day she strolled in to Edwards life and stole his heart.

So here I was, having just come across this emotion I felt for Edward. Yes, it had literally hit me a few minutes ago. I was sat in my room, thinking about what Alice had been saying earlier on today about how she wished she could find her "true love".

"_When you feel like you can't be apart from them, get jealous when they talk to other girls, when you feel in awe at their presence,"_ She had rambled on for 10 whole minutes about how she assumed it would feel to be in love.

However, her plan had backfired. Now I was the one realising _I_ was in love.

It was a Wednesday evening. The rain was pounding on the glass window pane outside, and I snuggled deeper down under my blanket.

What was I going to do? Because I _couldn't _be in love with Edward. It would ruin everything.

Seeing him would be awkward too. How could I look him in the eye without letting my feelings become obvious? What if he realised and hated me for it?

Just then my phone buzzed loudly.

I looked to my side to where the screen was lit up, as _Incoming call: Edward_ flashed across it.

_Shit. _What was I supposed to say?

I let the phone ring a bit longer, wondering whether I should answer or not.

Finally I gave in.

"Hello?"

"Bella!" The velvet voice on the other end of the line sounded full of relief. Evidently Edward had been under the impression that I was not going to answer.

"Sorry, I erm… dosed off… didn't hear the phone ringing…" The lie was abysmal, but it seemed to work.

"Bella, can you come round?" Edward sounded completely unabashed.

He wanted me to go round? _Now?_

"Y-you mean now?" I was trying to stay calm.

"Yes now silly, when else?" Edward was laughing a soft musical laugh. My stomach swooped.

"But it's 11:11 PM, Edward!"

"So… you've been round later than that before."

"Yeah, but it's a school night."

"Please Bella! I haven't seen you in ages!" He complained.

I heard laughter in the background.

"Who's there?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, just Em and Jazz. Pleeeasee Bella! They want to see you too!"

Edward and I went to different schools. I was at Forks High whilst he was at Washington State, which was in Forks anyway.

I sighed. I couldn't have him annoyed with me.

"Fine." I grumbled, "But just so you know, I'm missing out on sleep because of you!"

I could almost hear Edward grin down the phone, just imagine his smug smile.

"Excellent! Do you want me to pick you up?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I'll drive. See you."

"Bye!"

Clambering out of bed, I put on my school hoodie over my top and jeans, slipped on some vans and grabbed my keys before heading out of the door without waking Charlie.

It was cold outside, and still raining. I stumbled across the drive towards my truck, clambering in once I had fumbled around with the keys, unlocking the door.

I started up the engine, which roared to life.

I cursed my lousy engine under my breath for being so loud. Charlie would be annoyed if he knew I was sneaking out.

I pulled out of the drive, and drove down the road towards the outskirts of Forks.

Okay, so I had only not wanted to go because I didn't know how to act around Edward, otherwise normally I would have been out of the door like a bullet. I guess that Emmett and Jasper being there would make it easier, ease up the uneasiness I felt, if anyone noticed it at all. Edward probably would. He could read me like a book.

Emmett and Jasper also went to Washington State High School with Edward, but I still got on with them well, they were nearly as good friends to me as Edward was.

Ten minutes later, I reached the Cullen household. A huge white house, 3 stories tall. Light spilled out on to the lawn, and I could see figures inside through the window.

Quickly climbing out of the car, I ran up to the front door- it was still raining- and knocked.

Almost immediately the door swung open, revealing Emmett, tall and brawny, his brown eyes alight with happiness, brown curly hair slightly messed up.

"Bella!" He cheered, and I was immediately pulled in to a hug, which I returned.

"Hey Emmett!" I squealed.

"Long time no see!"

"Indeed," I agreed, before following Emmett in to the living room.

I was immediately tackled by what I could only assume was Edward, due to the amazing smell the blur was radiating, and the mess of bronze sitting atop.

"Bella!" His musical voice cheered happily.

"Hey," I said uncomfortably, the close proximity of my best friend making me feel uneasy.

He pulled back, grinning, his emerald eyes glittering in the light of the room. My breath caught slightly, but otherwise I was pretty proud at the normality of my behaviour.

"Jeez, you do look tired," Edward mused thoughtfully, taking in my dishevelled appearance.

"I'll take that as a compliment shall I?" I said, hitting him playfully on the arm.

I greeted Jasper, and the four of us sat in a circle on the floor, chatting and laughing happily.

"So Bella, got a boyfriend yet? That Mike guy seemed pretty keen last time I checked." I groaned inwardly. I had been waiting for this topic of conversation to roll round -Emmett loved teasing me about guys, especially my previous boyfriend Jack, mainly because Emmett didn't like him.

"Ugh, that jerk- never in a million years."

"Good."

I looked up, a little surprised as I realised that statement had come from Edward. I scrutinized his expression, but it was unreadable.

"Aww, what's wrong with Mike?" Jasper said.

All three of us goggled at him, half in shock, half in amused pity.

Jasper burst out laughing muttering "Kidding, kidding!"

"You sure you're just kidding Jazz?" Emmett mocked.

"Yes, 100% positive. That guy is the biggest prat I ever met. Okay, strictly speaking that isn't true, the biggest prat I ever met is you, Emmett."

Emmett hung his head, whilst me and Edward rolled about on the floor laughing.

I took the momentary lapse in conversation to glance at the clock- it was 12:30.

"I better get going, I _should_ be asleep right now, and I have to get up at seven tomorrow!"

"Yeah, I should really be heading off too," agreed Jasper.

I said goodbye to everyone, and Edward stood up, following me to the door.

"Bye Bella, thanks for coming round," he smiled his dazzling crooked smile, leaving me momentarily breathless.

"No problem, I'll see you at the weekend?"

"Definitely!" Edward nodded.

"Bye then!" I smiled.

Edward swept me up in to a quick hug. "Bye Bella," he said softly, before releasing me.

I turned around out in to the rain that was still falling, sighing as I did so.

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**Well there it was, reviews would be welcome. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed!**


	2. In the Morning

**Disclaimer: I'll say it again, I don't own anything.

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I didn't exactly know what I was going to do about my feelings for Edward. Telling him was an option- but a very foolish option. Maybe I could just keep them bottled up. For now I would do the only reasonable thing I could think of. I would turn to Alice.

Alice was my next best friend after Edward. They didn't know each other, because Alice went to my school too, but they had both heard of each other as I talked about them both that much. My other school confidant was Rosalie. In truth, I wasn't as close to her as Alice, but she too was one of my best friends. Perhaps she could help too, especially as she always had her way with boys.

That morning I sidled up to school, looking like what I'm sure could only resemble some sort of unfortunate zombie.

I saw Alice and Rosalie both talking near the schools main entrance, so headed off in that direction.

"Hi," I said when I was close enough.

They both looked up, smiles spreading across their faces. Alice's quickly turned to an expression of horror.

"Bella! You look like death!" She exclaimed.

"Mhmm, that's the result of a late night. I told him I needed to sleep but _no_." I rolled my eyes.

"What do you mean?" Asked Rosalie, looking confused.

"I mean that Edward persuaded me to go visit him at after 11 last night. I didn't get home until quarter to 1 one after I had left."

Alice gaped at me, and Rosalie grinned knowingly.

"Bit keen aren't you?" Rosalie smirked.

"Ugh, he nagged me to go round actually."

"Still…"

"Oh shush," I groaned, even though Rosalie had hit the nail on the head.

"You know I'm right," she was using one of those annoying I-told-you-so kind of voices.

"Maybe." Oops.

"What?!" Alice and Rosalie's mouths fell open.

"Bella, I was joking!" Rosalie laughed.

"I know _you _were. But what the hell am I supposed to do? I like my best friend and I can't tell him that can I?!" So I came clean pretty quickly. Hopefully this would get resolved quickly too.

"How long ago did you realise this?" Asked Alice.

"Last night," I grumbled.

"And why didn't you tell one of us?!" She squealed.

I gave her a sardonic look. "Because, Alice, I had about 10 minutes to realise it, and then I was bullied in to going out!"

"Well you could tell him," Rosalie's expression was thoughtful. "For all we know, he could like you back."

"And his girlfriend?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Point." She nodded.

Just then the bell rang.

"Great, better not be late for registration. This day has already got awful written all over it."

"Bella you're such a pessimist!" Alice laughed.

We walked to registration, then went off to 1st period. I had trig with Rosalie, so she carried on pestering me about Edward.

"I don't think you should tell him just yet. The feeling might pass. Maybe he will say something first. If he doesn't after a few weeks, I'd say something then. Make sure it's the right thing though, nothing too"-

"Rose! Could you just cut it out for 1 minute?!" My tone was full of exasperation.

"Sorry," she said.

I didn't pay much attention during trig, or in English second period either.

This just wasn't real. It couldn't be. Edward. _Edward._ How could I like Edward? Well, his personality, looks, humour… _Ugh! Shut up!_

Soon enough, it was lunch time. I now had a headache to accompany my exhaustion and troubled mind.

"Hey Bella!"

I turned around to see Tyler, a boy in most of my classes.

"Hi Tyler," I smiled.

"You alright? Haven't spoken in a while."

"True. I'm okay, just tired, you?" I asked.

"I'm good. So… are you busy at the weekend?"

No. However, a day with Tyler sounded extremely unappealing.

"Err… yes, I'm seeing some friends. Sorry," I lied.

"Too bad. Some other time maybe," he looked hopefully.

"Yeah, some other time," I agreed.

I got my lunch and went to sit down with Rose and Alice, who were already there.

"Tyler on you're tail?" Alice sounded amused.

"Unfortunately," I nodded.

"Aww, give him a chance Bella, he isn't _that _bad."

"I know, but he's as boring as hell."

I was remembering the last time I had agreed to meet up with Tyler one weekend. Let's just say the less said the better.

"We were just saying that we needed to go down to Port Angeles at the weekend, fancy coming?" Rosalie asked.

"What would be the need of visiting?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh you know, just a few school books… and clothes."

"I knew it!" I laughed.

Both of them had some sort of crazed obsession with clothes, and were convinced that I too would one day see the light.

"Aww come on Bella, it will be fun!" Alice cheered.

"Pshh," was what I managed to get out of my mouth, as I took a bite out of my sandwich.

"Suite yourself, we however will get some lovely new outfits, won't we Rose?"

"Yes," she nodded enthusiastically.

"That's not going to work!" I half smiled, amused at their pathetic attempts.

"You'll see!"

When I got home from school, Charlie was already home from work, his police belt hung up on the coat pegs.

"Hi Dad!" I called, poking my head round the living room door. I was completely unsurprised to see him with his feet on the table; beer can in hand with some baseball game on the TV. Typical Charlie.

"Hey Bells, good day?"

"Okay I suppose."

I wouldn't dare mention any of my worries to Charlie, knowing the awkward conversation that would follow.

"I'll put tea on soon, what do you want?"

I wasn't expecting a request, and didn't get one.

I went up to my room, and decided to put my mind at rest and read.

Reading was good- I could get lost in somebody else's problems instead.

I looked at the clock on my bedside table after a while. It was 5'o'clock. Edward would call any minute on tradition. He always called at 5.

And sure enough…

"Hello?"

"Hi!"

"How are you?"

"I'm great, you?"

I sighed. "Not so great. Because of a certain somebody, I got referred to as "death" today, thank you."

"Aww, now that couldn't possibly be my fault! You should have had some caffeine!"

"I did," I said bluntly.

"Oh…"

"Exactly. Anyway, how was school?"

"Okay. Tanya wasn't in though, something about a migraine."

"Shame." Fortunately, I don't think Edward caught the sarcasm.

"So, this weekend, fancy coming round?"

"Sure, what day?"

We arranged for me to go round on Saturday, before I had to go and make dinner.

"See you!" I said, before hanging up.

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	3. No Goodbyes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or New Moon, or Eclipse, or Breaking Dawn.**

**Chapter 3, here it is. I'm not so sure about this one...

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**Before I knew it, it was Saturday.

I had decided to try and treat it like any other day- if that was possible.

I still couldn't control the fact that I had butterflies in my stomach, due to anticipation of seeing Edward soon.

I left the house at 11, setting off for the Cullen household.

It wasn't raining today, a pleasant surprise. This meant no running from house door to car door, minimising the chance of tripping. Yes, I was clumsy. It was an unfortunate thing to inherit, or pick up if that wasn't the case. It always happened to strike at the wrong times, such as in the corridor, especially timed for maximum trampling. Or in gym assessment, ensuring my grade could never be where I wanted it to be. Oh how my klutziness loves me so.

Edward greeted me cheerfully when I arrived at his house.

"Why so cheerful?" I mused, as he whistled happily as we walked upstairs.

"Why not? It's a nice day; you're round, what's not to be cheerful about?"

I snorted. "You do know you sound incredibly cheesy, right?"

"Obviously!" He said in a mocking tone.

I shook my head in shame.

Once in his room, Edward put on a CD, and I sat down on his huge leather couch, grabbing a fluffy cushion and wrapping my arms around it.

"So, are you going to tell me what's been up with you these past few days?" Edward asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

_Damn it._ I had been right- he did notice everything.

"Oh you know, just stressed, tired, all of that crap"-

"Bella," he said sternly.

"What?"

"Tell me what's wrong. I know you're lying, you never could!"

Oh no. What was I going to tell him? Rose and Alice had both said to wait, but could I do that? Would Edward squeeze it out of me?

I had a horrible feeling that if I said something, everything would go completely pear-shaped.

"Bella?" He was still waiting.

"I-I just realised something the other day that startled me, that's all."

"Well… what was it?"

What was I supposed to say to that?

"Err, well, I just realised I like someone more than I thought I did."

Great! I had said too much.

Maybe I _could _just tell him now.

"Who? Not Newton, because you know he's an idiot."

Crap, crap, crap, crap, _crap!_

"No, not Mike."

"Honestly, just spit it out Bella."

I looked up to see his beautiful green eyes burning with curiosity and worry.

"I-I can't."

"Do I know them?"

I laughed at that, even though I didn't find it funny. "Yes."

His eyes widened. "Its not Emmett is it?"

This time I did laugh out of humour. "No!"

"Then"-

"Let's just watch a film or something, I don't feel like talking about it right now."

"Okay…" he said, a little taken aback by the sounds of it. Me and Edward always told each other everything, so to him I'm sure it would seem odd.

"What film?" He asked.

"You can choose."

Edward sighed. "Seriously Bella, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'll be fine."

Edward nodded, but I saw him watching me out of the corner of his eye as the film went on five minutes later.

The day went by pretty much like that. Chatter, worry, odd looks. Chatter, worry, odd looks.

Esme, Edwards mother, called us down at 8 for dinner.

"Enjoy," she smiled.

"Thanks Esme!"

I ate quickly, discovering that I as actually starving.

After dinner, I decided it was probably time I went home.

"So, you're sure you're okay?" Edward asked for what felt like the fifty-billionth time today. He had both his hands on my shoulder and was looking straight in to my eyes.

I felt my face flush at his close proximity.

"Bella, whoever it is, I'm sure it will be fine. Their lucky that someone as good as you likes them. It will all be fine, trust me." He smiled reassuringly.

I shook my head as I felt tears well up in my eyes. "It won't Edward, I know it won't!" My voice broke at the end.

"Bella, it will sort itself out, I promise you it will."

I just shook my head again, as I looked up to see Edwards beautiful face frown at my upset.

"At least tell me who it is so I can knock some sense in to the idiot!"

"It's _you _Edward!" I cried.

Whatever it was I had been expecting, it wasn't this.

Shock crossed Edwards face. "Wh-what?! He spluttered.

"You," I mumbled pathetically.

Edward shook his head. "No! Bella, I have Tanya. I don't- no!"

Tears were running freely down my face now.

"I'm sorry! I didn't want to feel this," I whispered.

Edward was still shaking his head, shock, surprise, even anger present on his face.

"No, Bella! It'll ruin everything. Don't you see? This _can't_ happen. _We_ can't happen, it's wrong! You're my friend, Bella, _friend!_" He cried exasperatedly.

"I know. Goodbye Edward," I mumbled, before turning on the spot and running to my truck.

Tears streamed down my face as I started the engine, hazed up my view as I drove down the drive, away from the house, away from Edward.

Why did I say it? Why couldn't I have just kept my stupid mouth shut? Alice and Rose's advice- why didn't I follow it?

"Argh!" I hit the steering wheel with my hand. I wished I hadn't. Now I had a throbbing wrist to deal with as well.

I had really done it now. I had messed everything up big time.

I didn't stop crying all the way home.

As soon as I got in, I ran straight up to my room, where I flung myself on to my bed fully clothed, and cried until sleep over took me.

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I woke up to my phone ringing.

Groggy eyed, I squinted to make out the caller, and sighed when I realised it was Alice.

"Hello Alice."

"Hi Be- what's wrong?" She had evidently noticed that I was upset through my tone of voice.

"I told him." I stated bluntly.

Alice gasped. "You what?!"

"I know I know, I'm a complete idiot."

"What did he say?"

"That _we_ couldn't happen, and that he had Tanya, and that we were friends, and it was wrong."

"Oh Bella! I'm coming round!"

"Alice no"-

But she had already hung up.

I sighed and rolled over, facing the ceiling as I replayed last night back to myself. _"No, Bella! It'll ruin everything. Don't you see? This _can't _happen. _We _can't happen, it's wrong! You're my friend, Bella, _friend_."_

Why, why, why did I have to go and say something?

My heart plummeted as I realised what had happened. _It'll ruin everything._ Well, it already had, hadn't it.

I didn't move, just simply stayed where I was, thinking. There was only one thing on my mind- Edward.

What would I tell people? _"Oh, we've kind of fallen out because I told him I liked him more than a friend." _Well wouldn't I sound pathetic? Wasn't I already pathetic, sitting on my bed, crying over something that I was stupid enough to have created?

There was a knock at the door just then. Alice.

I heaved myself up off my bed- with great effort- and trailed downstairs to the front door.

It swung open, revealing Alice, who- bless her- was clutching a large tub of ice cream.

"Bella!" She hugged me as soon as I had opened the door wide enough.

"Thanks for coming," I said in to her shoulder.

She pulled back.

"Of course I was going to come!" She smiled reassuringly.

"Come in," I said.

We walked through to the living room- Charlie was at work- and I plopped down on to the sofa, Alice sitting next to me.

"Bella, boys are idiots."

I sighed.

"But he isn't. He's lovely and caring and everything I could wish for. He just doesn't feel the same about me."

Alice hugged me again, obviously at a loss of what to say.

After a while, she spoke. "Here, have some ice cream. It's raspberry sorbet, you're favourite." She slid the tub in to my hands, and then darted off in to the kitchen, returning with two spoons.

"Thanks again Alice," I smiled weakly, as I took a large spoonful of sorbet and stuffed it in to my mouth.

"No problem," she said thickly, through a mouthful of her own.

I felt marginally better when Alice left later that day.

However, my mood immediately deteriorated when 5 'o' clock rolled round, and there was no call from Edward.

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**Sorry if there are any mistakes!**

**Reviews?  
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	4. Crying, Waiting, Hoping

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Here's chapter 4!

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The whole week passed without word from Edward.

I actually felt sorry for Alice and Rose, who had had to put with my glum, pessimistic mood all week. I hardly talked at school, and if I did it was to complain about something or other that was annoying me.

I spent every night crying before I went to sleep. I knew I was taking this badly, but I had lost my best friend over this. Of course Charlie had realised something was wrong, but like I say, anytime you try to have a serious conversation with Charlie… yeah, awkward.

I had actually hoped for homework everyday of the week, because I needed something to distract me.

"Well, if it's homework you're looking for, you're welcome to mine," Rose had said when I had mentioned this.

Alice had suggested that I call Edward, but I had merely laughed at the thought. I knew that wouldn't work- Edward would either say he was busy when he answered the phone, or not answer at all.

It had only made matters worse that I had been sat at home, letting my frustration stew. I had spent too long thinking about the situation, drawing up too many worst case scenarios.

Alice and Rose had tried to coax me out of the house, but it just wasn't happening. The only place out I had been that week was school.

It was now a Friday, and Alice was practically begging me to come out.

"Bella please, we're only going to the restaurant."

I was sat in my room again cross legged on my bed, one hand holding the phone to my ear, the other rummaging around in a bag of crisps.

"Alice!" I munched, making my speech unclear- I'm sure she would get the picture.

"Don't Alice me, you're coming whether you like it or not. And you'd better get dressed nicely otherwise you'll have me to deal with!"

I gulped. Dealing with Alice when it came to fashion normally meant a 5 hour shopping trip or a make over.

"Fine. I'll get dressed then." I gave in. it was the easiest thing I could do at the minute.

"But Bel- what?!"

"Ugh. I said I'd come."

"Yay!"

I automatically held the receiver away from my ear, as Alice squealed happily at a pitch that was incredibly unnatural.

"I would like to make it out of the door with my right ear fully working though," I cried just loud enough for Alice to hear.

Alice giggled. "I'll be round at 6!" She chorused, and I groaned before ending the call.

Now I did have something to do, but getting dressed up was not my idea of a distraction.

I got up and walked over to my wardrobe. Sighing slightly, I opened the wardrobe door before rifling through the mass of clothes that I had been bullied in to receiving.

Alice always bought me clothes. It was one of those annoying things that she tended to insist on. First of all she was spending money on me, and second I would never wear half the clothes she bought for me.

Sure, Alice had more money than sense, but I was in no mood to waste it, or have it spent on me.

After a few minutes of rummaging, I settled on some jeans and a pretty top. Loads of people wore that out to a restaurant, so Alice couldn't complain.

I washed my face with cold water in an attempt to make it look more alive than it felt. Needless to say, it didn't work.

After about 10 minutes spent in front of the mirror trying to regain my usual appearance and failing abysmally, I went downstairs to tell Charlie I was eating out.

"Want me to make anything before I go? Knowing you you'll either have burnt cheese on toast or order in a pizza," I asked Charlie after I had told him.

"No no, now that you mention it, I think I _will_ call for a pizza," he smiled gruffly at me from where he was sat on the couch.

I rolled my eyes at him before walking back upstairs, my face immediately regaining its miserable façade.

I waited around in my room until it was 6. More waiting meant more thinking, but all in all, I managed to not let my mind drift too much.

Bang on time at 6, there was a knock at the door. Alice was always on time.

I walked down the stairs, shouting "Bye Charlie!" as I passed the living room. I received a grunt in reply. At least he'd heard me.

I opened the door and was immediately attacked by Alice, who decided to take me off guard and greet me with much enthusiasm.

"Yes, Alice… before you try and knock me over…"

She giggled.

"One moment, I just need to get my purse."

I walked back through to the kitchen, grabbing my purse from the shabby counter.

This house seriously needed decorating, but I think it was decided that me and Charlie were both too lazy for our own good to do anything about it.

"Ready?" Alice asked as I came back to the front door.

"Yep," I replied, taking my coat off of the pegs. Judging by the normal weather of the area, I would need it.

"Let's go!" She grinned.

Alice's car was parked at the end of the drive. I only knew that it was a Porsche, because Alice had talked about it for an hour a day the first week she got it. The car was a glossy yellow, making it stick out easily in traffic.

If it wasn't for the low crime level around here, I would have predicted it would have been stolen by the end of the year.

"So, we're meeting Rose at 7 outside the Italian place I think," Alice said, once we had set off.

"Right," I nodded.

"Seriously Bella, call him. Tell him that you still want to be friends!"

"I _can't _Alice! I'm going to wait for him to call me!"

She rolled her eyes before saying "Bella you said that he called you every night at 5 and he hasn't called you once since Saturday. Maybe you should send him a text, just to say you still want to be friends. Don't go apologizing, because he's the one being an idiot."

"Yes, but he wouldn't be acting an idiot if I hadn't said anything!" I wailed.

There was a forced silence before I spoke again.

"Let's just focus on something else for the evening."

Alice didn't take her eyes off the road as she said "Bella, if you need to talk about it, then do! Don't keep everything bottled up and leave me and Rose to do the guessing! We want you to be happy!"  
I sighed. "I know Alice; I just don't feel like talking about it right now. I'm still trying to get my head round the whole thing."

She smiled. "Okay."

We put the radio on after that, dancing around whilst sat down. We probably looked pathetic, but I was doing my best to stay cheerful this evening- I didn't want a breakdown in the middle of the restaurant.

We arrived at the restaurant on time, to find Rosalie sat on the bonnet of her shiny red car, inspecting her nails whilst she waited for us.

"Jeez Rose, it's a bit cold to be sat outside," I smirked as we approached her.

She looked up, having not noticed we had arrived.

"Eh," she shrugged.

She hopped off the bonnet, and we all walked in to the restaurant.

Inside it was warm, and a bell tinkled as the door swung open.

The little restaurant was nearly full, with just a few tables free.

"Come on, let's get that one by the window," Alice pointed to a table over in the far corner.

It was the kind of place where you just walked in, casual.

It didn't take long until a server came over to the table.

"Hi, are you ready to order?" Asked the lady.

We nodded.

I ordered a small Spaghetti Carbonara, as I wasn't that hungry.

We talked about school, and people at school. I was feeling a lot better by the time our food arrived, the distraction doing me some good.

"Ha!" Rose was laughing. "Tyler asked _you_ out Alice?"

"Yes, I wonder why," she said sarcastically.

"Why?" I asked, slightly amused.

Rosalie gave me a pitying look as she chewed on her pizza. "Bella." She said once she had swallowed. "He obviously wants to see if you were really busy this weekend, and try and find out more about you so he can ask you again!"

My eyes widened, and I'm sure a somewhat horrified look had took refuge on my face.

"Oh god. Please don't let him do that!" I wailed.

"Take it as a compliment," Alice shrugged.

"That he's trying to ask my friend out to find more out about me?" I asked sardonically.

Rose and Alice both laughed again.

"At least you know he's keen!"

"_Very_ keen," Rosalie agreed.

I shook my head at a loss for words.

I had the wrong guy chasing me. _No, Bella. Don't go there!_

And I didn't. I managed to steer my train of thoughts in to a happier direction.

We ordered dessert after that, deciding to spoil ourselves.

"Please Bella! Just a tiny little bit!"

Alice was eyeing my tiramisu longingly from across the table.

"Nope." I said happily, as I took another large spoonful. Hungry or not, I always had room in my stomach for tiramisu.

Alice looked down at her now empty bowl that had contained a slice of chocolate tart. _"Measly"_ she had called it.

Rosalie was watching us both happily, as she ate up her trifle quickly before Alice turned to her.

I finished my tiramisu much to Alice's dismay, and sure enough, she turned to Rose.

"Rose- oh."

Rosalie was hastily finishing off the scraps of her dessert.

"Yes Alice?" She asked tauntingly.

"Ugh. Never mind," she groaned.

"No go on, what was it?"

"Shut up Rosalie."

"Suite yourself," Rose grinned, winking at me before we both burst out laughing. Alice was hilarious when she was grumpy.

We paid after that, and me and Alice said bye to Rose as we walked back over to the car.

It was a quite ride home, but I was cheerful for the first time that week. I had had a good evening with Alice and Rose.

"So I'll probably see you on Monday?" Alice asked, as she pulled up to my house.

"Yeah. Thanks Alice, for dragging me out of the house."

She smirked triumphantly.

"No problem!"

I hugged her goodbye, and then got out of the car.

I got inside and put my coat up on the pegs in the hall.

I could hear Charlie watching TV in the front room as I walked past the door.

"Bella?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"Edward called," he said.

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**There it was :)**

**I don't know when I will update next- soon I think!**

**It depends how many reviews I get, but I also have ALOT of work to do :(**


	5. Glass of Water

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

**Here's chapter 5! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favourited :)

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**

_What?! Woah!_

My heart froze. I couldn't believe it.

Yeah big deal, somebody calls. But _Edward?!_ Edward, who hadn't called all week, when he normally calls everyday. Edward, who had told me my feelings would ruin everything!

"W-what did he say?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

"Just were you there, that's all. Kid sounded a bit stressed if you ask me," Charlie huffed.

_Yeah I'll bet he did _I thought to myself.

"Did he say to call back?"

Charlie paused for a moment. "No, I don't think he did."

So there it was. I wouldn't call back. If it was that important- which it probably was- he would have asked for me to return the call. But seeing as I didn't have a clue what to say to him, I would wait.

This seemed foolish, even to me. I had been pretty close to depressed all week because he hadn't called, and now I wasn't going to call him back?

Okay, so maybe that was extremely stupid. I would text him instead.

Texts are good; you can't hear the tone of someone's voice in a text, which helps in my situation.

So 1 text. That was all.

Once upstairs, I paced my room, thinking what to say.

_What's up? _Uh uh, too casual.

_Did you call before? _Well obviously, if Charlie had said it.

Finally I decided on

_Hi, Charlie said you called before,_

_Was it important?_

I hit send before I could think about it.

I immediately regretted it. I mean _Was it important?_ Rude or what?

I decided right then that I was too much of a worrier. Yes, I had reason to be worried, but I was beating myself up over this whole thing.

_Of course you're beating yourself up over this whole thing, it's Edward for god's sake!_

Well, there goes trying to make myself feel better.

I collapsed on to my bed, head in hands.

I had thought that I was feeling better, thought that I had cheered up from Port Angeles, but reality had come crashing around me.

I didn't know what to do, didn't know how to get past this.

Last week, my life was, as I'd said, nearly perfect. Now? Now I didn't even have the guts to call my so called best friend.

But could I even call him my best friend anymore? Drastic, I know, but this behaviour was so unlike Edward, that had it not been for the circumstances, I would have thought him dead.

Obviously, he wasn't because he had called, but all the same, he might have been for the amount of times I had heard from him this week

I let out a frustrated kind of wail, and keeled over sideways so that my head was now on my pillow.

And I couldn't help think that this was all my fault. If only I had kept my mouth shut.

I waited 10 minutes, and still no reply.

Deciding that I would be a pathetic excuse of a creature if I sat around waiting for a reply, I went through to the bathroom to run a bath.

Whilst the water ran, I went down to check on Charlie.

"I'm just going to have a bath Dad, is that okay?" Bit late to be saying that now that the water was already running.

Charlie looked up from the TV "Sure Bells, did you catch Edward?"

_Ugh._ The one time Charlie decided to ask…

"Huh? Err, no I left him a text though."

"Alright kiddo," Charlie smiled, turning back to his baseball game.

I went in to the kitchen to get a glass of water after that.

I sat on the kitchen counter, sipping my drink as I thought things over, _again, _whilst I waited for my bath water to run.

If it had really been that important, wouldn't he have called my mobile? He usually calls my mobile anyway. Unless he hadn't wanted to reach me at all, just look like he'd made an effort.

I felt my face grow warm at the thought. Edward not wanting to talk to me. Making false effort so I couldn't accuse him of anything. Accuse me for the cause of this instead.

No. No, Edward wasn't that kind of person. He wouldn't do that to me.

But then another thought crossed my mind. Tanya would.

What if he had mentioned something to her, and she didn't want me in his life anymore?

Edward would listen to Tanya; he loved her to pieces and wouldn't want to lose her over a friend. _A friend like me _said a nasty voice in the back of my mind.

I nodded to myself in agreement.

"Bella, bath'll be ready!"

"Kay!" I called back to Charlie.

He was probably right.

Maybe another minute and then it would be anyway.

But yeah, if Tanya had anything to do with it, I could probably kiss my friendship with Edward goodbye.

I wouldn't just lose Edward either. I would probably lose contact with Jasper and Emmett. Talk about 3 in 1.

My stomach was churning at the thought. What would Emmett and Jasper say if Edward told them? Think I was crazy probably, weird even. Weirder thank liking Mike Newton weird.

"Bella, bath!" Charlie shouted again.

"Right," I said, still not really listening.

What if Edward, Jasper, Emmett and Tanya were all laughing about me and how stupid I was? After all, I suppose I was. Crushing on my best friend, then actually telling him, _whilst_ he had a girlfriend! That wasn't just being stupid, that was down right ridiculous.

Could I just try and tell Edward that I didn't mean it?

No. No way would he fall for that one. He'd have to be even stupider than me for that- not possible.

Or maybe-

"Bath Bella! I don't want my floor flooded!"

"Alright, alright!" I shouted back.

Jumping off of the kitchen counter, I put my glass by the sink and hurried up the stairs.

The bath was fine, not even past the drainage hole yet. Trust Charlie to over react.

I got a towel from the cupboard, before getting in.

The bath did help me relax slightly, but my mind was still a blur of thoughts. Thoughts involving 3 of my friends and Tanya turning on me. Thoughts where Edward hated me for being selfish enough to put my feelings first.

Eventually, my head started spinning from the heat, so I got out.

I went through to my room after draining the water to get changed in to my pyjamas. I definitely needed an early night.

I brushed my teeth and said goodnight before clambering in to bed.

It was raining again, but that came as no surprise.

I turned on my side, and spotted my phone.

_One new message _was on the screen.

He had replied.

Not quite sure whether I wanted to read it or not, I reached for my phone. My hand trembled slightly. _Bella, you're pathetic, it's a text message! Might not even be from Edward!  
_But it was from Edward. The reply was extremely short.

_No._

_

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_**There you go! Sorry it was so short, and a bit repetitive I thought, but it was also a bit rushed.**

**I don't know when I will update again, soon I hope.**

**Reviews will determine how soon, they put me in a better mood to write!**

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	6. Forgotten Faces

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or the incredible characters :/**

**Okay, here's the next chapter!**

**I decided to put it up because I'm not going to be able to put up that many when Monday comes, so I'm trying to get as many out as possible now.**

**Thanks to ashleylacey for reviewing just then, that put me in a good mood to keep on writing!**

**Anyway, enough from me! Here it is...

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**

I stared at the message for a full 30 seconds, as if expecting more words to appear, other than the measly two letters I saw instead.

I felt anger ripple through me.

The effort that he had made had ended in nothing. We were still back at square one. He just had his chance to go and say whatever it was he wanted too, and he didn't.

Well then, there it was. He had nothing important to say to me about the past week. About the fact that this was the first time we had spoken since I had told him how I felt. Yet here we were, still making no progress, no talk, no nothing.

Edward. I was now so desperately angry at him, yet madly in love with him. It just wasn't fair. Why did he have this effect on me? How can I be so angry with him, yet still love him?

Well, I don't know how it worked, but I knew it was true.

For now, I was just going to sleep. That's what I needed, so that's what I would do.

Several more weeks past, and Edward seemed to be acting under the term "Silent as the grave".

Not one word.

I had called him once, but Esme had simply said he was out with Tanya. At least she missed me, asking why I hadn't been round in a while.

"_It would be nice if you popped in soon dear, he's been as moody as hell these past few weeks. I don't know what has gotten in to him!"_

I had a pretty good idea, though I didn't mention it to Esme.

"_Things change" _I had told her sadly.

I had asked that Edward call me back, yet he never did.

It was now November. The weather outside had turned cold and bitter.

Me and Rosalie were round at Alice's house one Saturday, sat making the fire in her living room.

"Stupid. Matches. Won't. Bloody. Work!" Hissed Alice, as she struck matches one by one, each flame fizzling out before her eyes.

Me and Rose would have found it down right hilarious, had we not been absolutely freezing.

"Alice! Can't we just put the heating on?!" I wailed, as another match flickered out before it was anywhere near the fire.

"No! I will do this!" She stated boldly, determination etched across her face.

"Alice, face it. The matches are shit. Let's just go to the store and get some more!" Rosalie's toned was somewhat annoyed.

"Fine! But I get to drive!"

"Oh don't worry, that's fine by me," I said sarcastically, waving my hand in the air. I hated driving.

"Ha ha!" She said. She was extremely annoyed, that was obvious.

One car journey later, we were at the local supermarket.

"Alright, let's do this quickly, supermarkets don't have heating!"

"Well I just waved goodbye to my future supermarket career then!" Rosalie muttered.

We walked in to the supermarket, hurrying over to the isle where we assumed we would find matches.

We got there, finding a full shelf worth of them.

"Okay, here's the plan, just grab as many as you can!" Alice said.

We immediately started grabbing boxes of matches, scrapping over ones we wanted to carry.

Once we all had a few each, we stopped.

"Let's bake too!" Alice squealed, getting in to the buy-as-much-as-you-can mood.

"Ugh, Alice we are _not_ buying the whole store!" I groaned as Rose laughed.

"I know, I know! Just half of it," Alice smirked.

"Well, I'm going to get a shopping cart for the matches, I'm not lugging these around whilst somebody else holds the sugar." I grumbled.

"Okay!" Alice and Rose said together, dumping their match boxes on me.

"Thanks?" I laughed.

I wandered off to find a cart, spotting one near the frozen foods isle.

Hurrying over, I dumped the many boxes in to the cart, and spun it round towards the Home Baking section.

I was nearly there when-

"Bella!" A loud voice boomed.

Spinning around, I saw Emmett, sticking out in the crowd of customers easily.

He was waving enthusiastically, and I waved back, happy to see him.

I hadn't seen him since that time at Edwards, such a long time ago now.

When he reached me, I was immediately swept up in to a hug.

"Emmett!" I squealed, returning the hug.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked, chuckling as he drew back, looking down at my face.

"Around," I stated.

I looked to his right, where a guy with tousled brown hair stood, nearly Emmet's height.

His hair reminded me of Edwards, only it wasn't that amazing colour.

He smiled at me, when I looked at him. He had been eyeing me curiously.

"Oh, Bella, this is Josh, Josh this is Bella- Edwards friend?" He asked the question to Josh to see if he had heard of me before. Evidently he had as he nodded his head in understanding.

My stomach swooped at the sound of Edward's name.

"Hey," he nodded at me.

"Hi," I smiled back, my voice a little shaky from the mention of Edward. Clearly Josh knew Edward too. He realised who I was from _Edward's friend_. Did that mean Edward had been talking about me? Did Emmett and Joshua know what a fool I had made out of myself?

Emmett seemed to notice my uneasy voice, and said "Josh, go see where Alex is with the drinks."

Josh looked confused, but went all the same.

"Bella, are you okay?"

I tried to lie. "Me? Mhmm, I'm good thanks, and you?" My voice came out rushed, squeaky and high-pitched.

"No, I mention Edward and you go as stiff as a board. What's wrong?"

Did Emmett not know? Had Edward told him _anything_?

"Has he not said anything to you? About, well, about anything?" I asked confused.

"No… What do you mean?" Emmett looked confused now.

"Emmett, I haven't spoken to Edward in nearly a month!" I exclaimed.

A truly dumbfounded expression struck Emmett's face at this.

"What? But you and Edward talk like, everyday!"

I shook my head. "Not anymore."

"But"-

"Bella!" Sang a high pitched voice.

I turned round to see that it was Alice who had cut Emmett off.

"I got the- Oh! Hi"

She spotted Emmett, and looked slightly taken aback by his size.

"Hey," he grinned.

"Alice, this is Emmett, Emmett this is"-

"I'm Alice!" She squealed, bounding forwards and holding out her hand for him to shake, which he shook.

"Oh good, you got a cart!" She smiled as she noticed me there with a cart full of matches.

Emmett looked too, and his eyes widened before a grin spread across his face.

"What, are you about to go off and commit arson or something?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"Ha! No, we're trying to find a good box of matches, most of those are for back up," I laughed. Then- "Alice, can you go and find Rose? We need to pay."

I wanted to carry on the conversation with Emmett to see whether Edward had said anything else.

Alice eyed us both suspiciously, before bounding off down the isle.

Emmett chuckled "A bit lively isn't she?" He asked.

I nodded. "She wouldn't be Alice if she wasn't."

Emmett shook his head, "Anyway- Edward. What do you mean you haven't spoken to him?"

"Have you not spoken to him?" I raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Yeah, course I have."

"Well then, has he not told you we don't speak anymore?" I would have thought he had said something.

"No, he just talks about you like he normally does!"

What the hell?! He hadn't mentioned anything about us not talking?!

"Are you sure?!" I asked, incredulous.

"Positive," said Emmett, nodding his head.

"And he still acts normal?"

"Well, he's been a bit moodier. He got in to a fight with Harper the other week, and you know he doesn't fight that much."

My eyes widened at that.

"No, I know. Well, if that's all…"

"And then he broke up with Tanya, that was a bit of a shock."

_Woah! Edward _broke up with _Tanya?!_

"What?!" What the hell was going on? By the sounds of it, Edward had been another person, not _a bit moodier_. "Are you serious?!"

"Mhmm, I was shocked too."

"Bit more than shocked," I muttered under my breath.

"Well, thanks Emmett."

Emmett smiled a forced smile.

"So, why don't you talk anymore?"

Oh no. I didn't want the conversation to steer in this direction.

"J-just something I said, that's all. I don't really want to say."

"Oh, okay… Well, he never mentioned anything," Emmett muttered, more to himself.

"Bella!"

This time it was Rosalie skipping down the shopping isle.

Were my two best friends on a sugar high or something?

Rose finally reached us, eyes widening at Emmett.

"Hi," she smiled sweetly.

"Hey," he smiled, his eyes widening too.

"Emmett this is Rosalie by the way," I added.

"Rose," she corrected me.

"Rose," I nodded.

"Well, _Rose_, are you at Bella's school too?" Asked Emmett, a little too enthusiastically.

"Yes," she nodded. "What school are you at?"

"Washington State, I know Bella through a friend."

Rosalie glanced at me worriedly, realising this was one Edward's friends.

I nodded, as if to say I was okay.

Then-

"EMMETT!"

Several passers by jumped, as a boy with scruffy blonde hair came walking down the isle. He had been the person who had shouted Emmett's name, in a tone to suggest he had been looking for him everywhere.

"Stop chatting up girls and come and pay! You have the cash, and Josh is stood there looking like and idiot- wait what am I talking about, he _is_ an idiot- but come on! Everyone will be waiting!"

"Shut up Alex, I'm coming now!" Emmett turned to us apologetically. "So, Bella we need a catch up! We'll have to meet up soon, I'll text you?"

"Sure," I nodded.

"See you Bella, Rose." He looked at Rosalie for slightly longer than ordinary, before walking towards Alex, his friend.

Once he had gone, I turned to Rosalie. "Well, I think I know where that's going…"

"What?!" She gaped, appalled.

"Oh you know what I mean," I teased.

However, my mind was busy going over the things that Emmett had just said about Edward.

"Let's just go and find Alice, okay?"

"Right," she nodded.

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	7. Aint' no Telling

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Twilight...**

**Okay, before I say anything else, I want to apologize for how ridiculously short this chapter is! Sorry!**

**Another thing, I guess there isn't much to this chapter, apart from the ending...**

**Happy reading :)**

**

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**

"WHAT?!" Alice and Rosalie both spluttered together, as I told them what Emmett had said about Edward.

"He broke up with his girlfriend?!" Said Rose, surprise and awe evident on her face.

"I know," I nodded. "They've been together 7 months as well."

"Oh my god!" Alice exclaimed.

We were back at Alice's now. We had managed to get the fire going, and made muffins, which we were now eating. We were sat on the rug in front of the fire, the muffin plate in the middle.

"But he's done all this, and hasn't even said one word to me!"

"Somebody sounds confused," said Rosalie, reaching for another muffin.

"What, me?" I asked. I definitely was.

"No," Rose shook her head. "Edward."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Bella, he's getting in to fights, broken up with his girlfriend, not telling anybody there was anything wrong, acting moody. And all this since you told him that you had feelings for him! Now for the love of god do not go writing that off as a coincidence!"

I toyed with the idea. "Okay, so he is confused, but why hasn't he spoken to me _at all_?"

"Because," Alice cut in, with the heir of somebody trying to explain to a full grown adult that 1 plus 1 equals 2, "He doesn't know his own feelings. Obviously he feels something for you, because he broke up with his girlfriend. He isn't acting himself, because he's been threating over you! Of course, if I knew him I would have a better idea at what it was, but that much is blatantly obvious!"

Alice and Rosalie had never met Edward before. They didn't even know what he looked like. Yes, they hadn't even seen a picture of him oddly enough, but I assured them both that he was beautiful.

Meanwhile, my head was spinning with all this new information. Was any of this right? Alice and Rosalie were good with this kind of thing, they could normally tell.

"You think?" I asked timidly.

"Yes I think!" Alice stated.

"I don't know, I'm going to think things over before I say anything."

They both nodded.

I needed to change the subject. I had just the thing.

"So Rose… Emmett?" I asked.

"What about him?" She said simply.

"Well, somebody looked pretty keen if you ask me…"

Alice gawped. "What?! That guy at the store?!"

"Well, maybe," Rosalie smirked.

"Aww, come on! We _have_ to set them up Bella!" Alice squealed.

"No, Alice don't you dare! I can handle it myself!"

"Please Rosalie! Pretty please," Alice pouted, her eyes widening and adapting a some what sombre expression.

"No, don't you get any ideas Alice Brandon!"

Alice sulked for the rest of the afternoon, trying to get Rosalie to change her mind, with no such luck.

At 9, I decided to go home. After all, it had been a tiring day for my brain.

When I got home, Charlie was in bed, obviously deciding to have an early night.

Deciding that this was probably a good idea, I had a quick shower, before getting ready for bed myself.

Once settled down, I let my mind wonder.

Edward had had a fight with Harper? I had always thought that they had been on good terms. Sure, not best of friends, but _fighting?!_ Edward never fought, not unless he was really really mad. Nothing Robert Harper said could do that to him. Could it?

And most surprisingly of all, he had broken up with Tanya. Unless there was some kind of argument that had taken place before hand, but Emmett would have mentioned it!

And then there was just Edward. Seeing Emmett made me miss him. Seeing how he had only had to say _Bella, Edwards friend_ for Joshua to realise who I was.

I missed Edward: His face, his voice, his actions, his humour- everything.

I tear threatened to spill on to my cheek, but I quickly wiped it away before it had a chance to make its great escape.

I had found out so much today. Realised that there was so much I missed. I would have wanted to be there to comfort Edward over his break up with Tanya. I wanted to be there to comfort him with the hard time he seemed to be having. He hadn't told anybody about what had happened, probably because he would normally be turning to me in this situation.

I could picture him now, pacing his room, kicking something out of frustration. It made me sad to think that he had lost his girlfriend over this- as much as I was jealous of her- and become moody and distant, keeping everything bottled up. And this was all because of what happened nearly a month ago? What else could it be?

These thoughts pursued me until I fell asleep, where they kept me company in my dreams instead.

Monday arrived quickly, as did the day pass. It wasn't until I was out in the car park, walking alongside Alice and Rosalie like usual that I heard the muttering.

"Guy from Washington State- what is he doing here?"

"Look, over there!"

"Wonder what he wants…"

I heard a few boys debating whether or not they should go and sort the _Guy from Washington State_ out as I passed them.

Then Alice let out a low whistle, "Who is _he?_"

Several girls were muttering their similar thoughts, I noticed.

"Who is who?" I asked curiously.

"Him!" Alice grabbed hold of my arm, pointing it in the direction where I now realised everybody was looking.

My heart froze, as my eyes fell upon him.

There, still in his uniform, leaning against his shiny silver Volvo, looking as beautiful as ever, was Edward.

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**And i'm ending it there ;)**

**You'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens.**

**Reviews very welcome, as always. They make me happy, and eager to write more!**

**Infact, I'm saying that unless I get 3... possibly 5 reviews, I won't update for a while (or I won't put the chapter up as soon as usual)  
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	8. Need a Little Time

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine, and sadly Edward isn't either...**

**Chapter 8 has arrived. Okay, don't hate me for it, because I think this is one of the worst chapters yet!**

**I was struggling with what to write and all that jazz, so if you don't like it, just tell me because I will not be at all suprised or offended!**

**Also, yes it is another short chapter.**

**I know I keep saying this, but make the best of the quick updating whilst you can, because it will unfortunatley stop very soon- Monday.**

**Also, I have coursework to do tomorrow, so if I don't update then, then you'll know why! Might get another chapter in before I go to bed though :)**

**I'll shut up now.

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**My memory had done no justice to his face, in the past month that I hadn't seen him. His bronze tousled hair was as messy as ever, his emerald green eyes visible, even from the distance I stood at away from him.

He didn't have his blazer on, so he stood in his white shirt, which hung lose from his grey trousers. His blue and yellow tie was lose around his neck, his top button undone.

He was looking down at his hands, and his face was a mixture of nervousness and expectation.

"Bella?" Alice was waving her hand in front of my face, as I realized my mouth was hanging open. I shut it quickly.

"I can't believe it." I stated simply.

"Can't believe what?" Alice eyed me curiously.

I paused before speaking. "It's him, Al. It's Edward."

Alice's eyes widened for a second before she spoke. "Woah! _That_ is Edward?" Rosalie elbowed her in the side. "Uh sorry. Bella, are you okay?"

I simply stared at Edward. The face I had missed so much was finally here.

He hadn't noticed me yet, so I carried on staring, not having to worry about him seeing me standing there looking like an idiot.

"Are you going to go over?" Rosalie asked me softly.

I nodded. "I think so."

I stood there for another 30 seconds, before taking a deep breath, and walking out on to the car park.

What should I say to him? _Where have you been? What are you doing here?_

I heard people muttering behind me again as I neared Edward.

He still hadn't looked up, and I was getting very close now.

He had a look of severe concentration etched across his face now, like he was thinking something over very hard.

I wondered why he was here. Was it to apologize? To tell me about Tanya? Well, I would know soon enough.

I carried on walking forwards at a slow pace.

It wasn't till I was a mere few footsteps away that Edward finally looked up.

Immediately, my favourite crooked grin swept across his face, as he looked up to find me standing there.

My breath hitched in slightly, and I felt my stomach swoop.

We both stood there for a minute, neither of us moving, simply staring at each others faces.

Then, "Bella." His soft musical voice whispered, so quietly that if I hadn't have seen his lips move, I wouldn't be sure he had spoken at all.

The sound of his voice bought reality crashing down around me.

Edward was _here._ He hadn't given up on me. He hadn't decided that he hated me. He had even come to school to meet me. Well, spur of a moment thing or not, I didn't care.

I felt a smile spread across my own face as I finally closed the last few steps between us.

As soon as I reached Edward, he wrapped his arms tightly around me in a hug. I mimicked him, wrapping my arms around his chest as I buried my face in to his shoulder.

A wave of happiness over took me, his scent over powering as I took it in. I was hugging Edward. A month of sadness, despair, and here I was _hugging _him.

He didn't care. He didn't care about what I had said. He was happy to see me, and that's what mattered. He wanted to see me, had maybe even missed me too. Joy surged through me like an electrical current.

Then, he pulled back suddenly, his expression changing.

"Ed"-

"I broke up with Tanya." He stated bluntly.

"I-I know," I said, slightly taken aback by his sudden statement.

Edward stared at me. "What? How?" He asked, all of a sudden looking confused. I had never seen his face change from expression to expression so fast before.

"Emmett," I mumbled.

"Oh. I see."

Despite my happiness, I couldn't help feel that things still felt a little awkward. Sure, I didn't expect it to just disappear, but our conversation seemed slightly restrained.

A minute past in silence until anyone spoke again.

"I'm sorry Bella," Edward said, peering down in to my eyes, which I dropped immediately.

Wait! "You're sorry? Edward, I'm the one who went and said something in the first place! If it hadn't been for me, none of this would ever have happened!"

"Only if I hadn't reacted so badly! I was stupid Bella; I didn't know what to do, so I did the only thing I _could_ do, cut off contact!"

"Yes, but you wouldn't have had to do that if I had kept my mouth shut!"

Pause, and then, "But I'm glad you didn't. Then I would still be completely clueless…"

He wasn't making sense now. "What do you mean, _clueless_?" I asked exasperatedly.

He paused again, as if wondering how to phrase his words. "Well, I wouldn't have admitted my own feelings to myself."

My heart pounded in my chest at his words.

"W-what do you mean?" I stuttered.

Pause, _again. _"I like you Bella, a lot… I just need time."

I swallowed hard. I felt butterflies in my tummy, my head was buzzing, and my heart leapt at the words I had just heard. He felt the same way! I couldn't quite believe it; it was almost too good to be true.

"Then t-time's good," I nodded.

Edward let out a musical laugh, then hugged me again.

"I'm so sorry I haven't spoken to you," he said softly.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter, Edward. You came back."

I was unaware that the car park had emptied, as we stayed in the embrace for what could have been hours.

Eventually, we withdrew, and I walked back across the car park to where my truck was parked, stood on its own as everyone else had left.

Me and Edward had arranged to meet tomorrow for a catch up, so I was going round to his at noon- apparently Esme missed me too, and even Carlisle, who was usually at work.

I was the happiest I had been in weeks, and my mind couldn't seem to get over what had just happened.

I didn't even care that he needed time. I didn't blame him- he had just broken up with his long term girlfriend after all. If time was what he wanted, that's what he would get, as long as it wasn't forever. I was still pretty amazed that he felt the same way at all.

I couldn't get his face out of my mind, his smell out of my head, his voice off of my conscience. However, I didn't mind in the slightest, because I needed something to get me through the time without him.

Arriving home, I skipped through the front door, startling Charlie who was hanging up his police belt, having just got home from work.

"Good day?" He chuckled.

"Yes, a very good day thanks!" And how right that was.

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	9. Forget About It

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If only...**

**Chapter 9 has arrived, and with it my dodgy internet connection. It took great effort to fix it, but I did it so I could post another chapter! It's a bit of a filler, but I still haven't finished my original writing coursework, which unfortunatley for me is in for tomorrow. Please make sure you review though, becaause otherwise I don't know what you thought- I can't read minds like Edward! :( **

**So anyway, here it is:**

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"Edward!" I pouted, as he quickly popped the last nacho in to his perfect mouth. "I wanted that!"

He grinned at me smugly, munching on the crisp extra slowly.

I threw a cushion at him.

"Now now, Bella. Violence isn't the answer!"

I smirked, "Neither is crime."

"It was my nacho!" He laughed, a perfect musical sound to my ears.

"Whatever," I muttered.

I was round at Edward's house, for the third time this week, and it was only Thursday.

Since we had spent such a long time apart, we felt that it was necessary to spend as much time together as possible, that time being every night after school, seeing as it was the only available time slot. I only hadn't been round on the Tuesday because Edward had had basketball practice.

We were up in his room, lying on the floor with the now empty bowl of nachos lying in the middle.

"I'm sorry Bella," he said in a mocking tone. "But you know that you _did_ eat half of the bag last night."

"No…" What Edward had just said was of course, completely true. I got in a hyped up mood and decided to waste my energy by eating, which Edward had told me made no sense what so ever.

I was happy to say that in the time we had spent together, things were once again pretty normal. There was only one thing bothering me.

Yes, we had only made friends at the start of the previous week, so I hadn't been expecting his 'time' period to end anytime soon. But I had been expecting a talk about what was what. How long time was, and where we both stood. I had yet to experience any of the sort.

It almost felt as if Edward only wanted us to be friends, that that was all he had ever really wanted when he arrived at my school the previous Monday.

For now however, I wasn't going to let that bother me. I was happy to have my best friend back, and that's what mattered the most.

"Just admit it Bella, I'm right!" Said Edward, sitting up and pointing to himself as if to prove it.

"Uh uh," I shook my head.

"Bella…"

A sudden thought struck me. "Edward, what was it that made you come back? Well, come to my school. You know what I mean."

I had been going under the assumption that it was because he was sorry, and that he missed me, but there had to be something that made him determined enough to come and see me.

"Well…" He started.

"Yes?"

"Well I guess it was kinda' because of Emmett."

My eyes widened. He had only come back because Emmett had told him too?! I couldn't help but feel slightly hurt by this comment. He had been forced to say something to me, and that was why we were speaking again.

Edward noticed the shock on y face.

"NO! That sounds really bad!" He panicked, shaking his head. "That didn't come out right at all. What I meant was that Emmett told me he saw you at the store. He said you seemed upset that we didn't talk anymore, and told me I was an idiot to let such a good friend like you go. Basically, he kicked some sense in to me. He didn't tell me to go and see you; I decided to do that myself. He just told me that I should think more carefully before letting someone like you out of my life, and well… he was right. I came to your school right after he said that. I missed you, but I didn't have the courage to come and see you until that. If I knew you were slightly upset that I was gone, I couldn't have that. I didn't want to make you upset, but I didn't want you to be angry at me either. I was half expecting for you to yell at me when you saw me at school. And I guess that's why… really."

There was a short silence before I spoke. "So, that's why you didn't answer my calls? Because you thought I would yell at you?" I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing, rolling around on the floor, clutching at my sides.

"Bella, it isn't"-

"Funny?" I gasped. "So funny!"

It seemed so stupid that half of the reason for our lack of communication was because Edward was worried that I would shout at him.

It took me a full five minutes to calm down, in which Edward sat on the floor staring at me in disbelief.

"Sorry," I said quickly.

"Doesn't matter," Edward shrugged.

That was the good thing about mine and Edward's friendship. We brushed things off like that, not making a big deal out of them. Yes, I'm sure you're thinking right now _How the hell is that true? You just haven't spoken to each other for a month because one of you couldn't handle what the other said! _ but that's why it was so odd, because nothing like that had ever really happened in our friendship before. We had the odd argument when we were little, but that was always over things like_ "I want to use the red crayon" _or _"No, I don't want to be it in tag!"_ which only lasted about five minutes anyway. I remembered Esme always trying to get us to shake hands as a truce. The only arguments that made it to ten minutes were the ones where we were both too stubborn to apologize.

"You thought that I would _yell _at you?" I asked.

"Yeah," Edward nodded. "I wouldn't have blamed you either."

I sighed. He was blaming himself again. "Edward, we have been over this. No blaming ourselves or each other!"

"But"-

"Just don't!" I scolded him. "Don't even try it!"

I decided to change the subject.

"Hey! Guess what?"

"What?" Edward looked up eagerly. Apparently I hadn't been the only one looking for something different to say.

"You know my friend Rosalie?"

"You've mentioned her," he nodded.

"Well, I reckon her and Emmett might like each other. They only met for about a minute, but if they meet again…"

"Emmett likes one of you're friends?" Asked Edward, a smug smile spreading across his beautiful face.

"I reckon so, yeah."

"Hah! I'm not letting him get out of that one! We have to get them to meet or something!"

"Yes! I know… I'll drag her to the park this weekend, on… Saturday at about 1-ish. Bring Emmett to the park and we can _coincidently_ bump in to each other."

"Genius, my friend," said Edward appreciatively, putting up his hand for a high-five, which I met.

"As long as she doesn't find out we did it on purpose. She likes to be independent, but I don't know how else we can get them to meet."

"She'll be happy you helped," he grinned.

"Let's hope so," I said, rolling my eyes slightly.

The plan was set. Now we just had to hope that it would work.

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**Voila, now review review review!**

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	10. Saturday

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, not me.**

**A/N: Here's chapter 10. I decided to slip this one in before I go to bed, so enjoy:

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**Rosalie accepted the invite to the park happily, and so Saturday, around 1-ish, we arrived at the local park.

It wasn't a huge place, consisting of a play area, field and a slightly wooded part.

I smiled to myself as we entered the park, remembering the times me and Edward played 40/40 in the woods, accompanied by friends from school- although Edward was the only one from those days that I still knew.

As soon as we entered the park, I immediately noticed Edward out on the field playing football/soccer. Emmett was there too, his noticeable bulky figure easily recognisable. Several other boys were also there too.

I pretended not to notice them- this was all part of the plan- and hastily glanced sideways to check if Rosalie had spotted. She hadn't. She was too busy looking up at the clouded sky.

"Bella, are you sure it isn't going to rain?" She asked hesitantly.

I had assured Rosalie that it wouldn't rain today so that she would come, but in all honesty I didn't have a clue. This was Forks however, so rain was never unexpected.

"Yup," I lied.

"Okay," she said, not looking convinced.

"Shall we go on the field?" I asked. I had to make sure she got to speak to Emmett.

Rosalie nodded, and we walked over to the grass, not far away from where the guys were kicking around the football. We checked it was dry before sitting down.

It took a full minute until Rosalie realised who the boys were. Being Rose, she was eyeing them up anyway, but it wasn't until she spotted Edward and Emmett that she spoke up.

"Hey Bella, isn't that"-

"HI BELLA!"

She had been cut off as Edward finally noticed me sitting on the grass, his perfect voice shouting across the field in delight.

"Hey," I waved him over.

He started running over, shouting "EM! BELLA'S HERE!"

I grinned as Emmett shouted "WHERE?" from in the middle of a crowd of people trying to get the ball.

Emmett then emerged out of the crowd, spotting me and Rosalie on the grass.

A huge smile spread across his face, before he ran after Edward, who was nearly at us now.

"How come you're here?" He asked, with a convincing tone of surprise, although I noticed he was fighting a laugh beneath his voice, perhaps because I knew him so well.

"Eh," I shrugged "Just wanted to come to the park. This is Rosalie, by the way." I pointed to Rosalie next to me.

"Hey, I'm Edward," He flashed his crooked grin at Rosalie, and my heart fluttered. It was Emmett who was supposed to be doing the charming today, not Edward!

"Hi Bella! Hi Rose!" Emmett had reached us to, and he looked extremely happy.

"Hi!" I grinned.

"Hey," Rosalie smiled sweetly.

"Nice to see you both! Last time was very brief but I had Alex to blame for that, and seeing as Alex isn't here…"

I laughed, and a sudden thought struck my mind. "Is Jasper here? Haven't seen him in _ages!"_

Edward nodded. "Yeah, come over and see him! He's in goal so we can talk to him up there!"

Edward bent down to grab my hand, pulling me up, and then dragging me across the field.

About half way over, we burst out laughing. "Hah! Great way to get them to talk on their own!" I choked, trying to breathe as I laughed.

"Mhmm," Edward nodded cheerfully, "Jasper is here though, let's go say hi, you haven't spoken in ages!"

Jasper greeted me with much enthusiasm, nearly getting hit in the face by the football as he walked across the front of the goal to hug me.

"Careful!" I laughed, as he threw his hands up in the air to hit the ball away.

"Hey there!" He was laughing too, and he swept me up in to a hug as soon as he reached me. Edward propped an elbow against the old goal post that they were using, leaning casually against it.

"How are you?" I asked, as we sat down five minutes later, somebody else taking over from goal.

He shrugged. "Not bad, how about you?"

"I'm excellent," I beamed happily.

"Glad to hear it," he smiled. "How come you're here? I thought you always said the park was for Sundays?"

I laughed as I remembered one of my old comments. I had a phase where for some reason, I would refuse to go to the park any other day than a Sunday. I never remember why exactly, but it became a sort of tradition, that I would only go to the park on a Sunday, for about 3 or 4 years.

"Well actually, we're trying to set up Emmett and my friend Rosalie over there," I nodded my head in that direction, where Emmett had sat down next to Rose and seemed to be deep in conversation with her.

Jasper followed my gaze, his eyes widening slightly as he took in Rosalie.

"Oh! You're setting them up? Why?" He sounded a bit annoyed fro some reason that I couldn't understand.

"We think they like each other," said Edward.

"I see." Jasper nodded curtly.

What was wrong with Jasper? He seemed fine a minute ago, until we mentioned the set up.

"You okay, Jazz?" Edward asked, having noticed there was something wrong like me.

"Yes, everything's fine thanks."

I exchanged a worried glance with Edward. Had we said something to upset him?

We sat there for another half an hour, managing to get Jasper to talk, although he still seemed a little off.

Eventually, Rose and Emmett came back over, both smiling happily.

"Ready to go in a minute, Bella?" Rosalie asked.

"Sure," I nodded. It had gotten a bit colder after all, and I wanted to ask Rosalie what she had talked to Emmett about for so long.

I stood up, and went over for a quick chat with Emmett, since I hadn't spoken to him properly in a while. Rosalie went over to Jasper and Edward.

"You spoke with Rose for a while." I said carefully, waiting to see how Emmett would react to this subject.

"Yeah," Emmett nodded. "She's such a great person! It was great to have a proper chat with her."

I grinned. "So you got on well then?"

"Very well," he smiled happily.

We walked back over to the others, and me and Rose said goodbye before walking back towards the park gates.

"So… Emmett seemed to think you were really nice."

"He did?" Rose looked up happily.

"Yep, said you were a great person, and it was great to have a proper chat with you."

"Well… I got his number," she smiled.

"Rose that's great!" I squealed happily.

"Yeah," she nodded enthusiastically. "And we're meeting up on Wednesday evening; he's taking me to Port Angeles!"

I grinned. Mission, complete.

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**And it definatley will be a while until you get the next chapter unless you review, hint...**

**I will update later on in the week, but sooner if you review!  
**

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	11. Issues

**Disclaimer: Do I own Twilight? No.**

**A/N: Hello! Sorry sorry sorry for not updating! Yeah, I did say that from Monday I would be busy, and I was. Unfortunatley that means I couldn't update. However, I am also a bit peeved that I only got 1 review. Thankyou so much DeviLISH-innocence for that review! I did say that more reviews=faster updates! I have had several favourite story adds with in the week, but no reviews off them! Those reviews would be greatly apprecitated!**

**Anyhow, here is the chapter! It _is_short, but that's all I have gotten round to writing, and I'm saving what I want to happen for other chapters.**

**I'll stop rambling. Ready. Set! _Go!

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_**"So, you really like him?"

"Yes."

"What, like, really really like him?"

"Yes!"

"Like, as in like, or really like like?"

"For the last time Alice, YES I really like him! Got it?" Rosalie screeched.

"Got it," Alice grinned toothily.

Me and Rosalie were round at Alice's house after a day at school. The start of the week had come around again, and we had decided that we were all in need of a good chat.

Rosalie was filling us in on exactly what her and Emmett had been talking about, and by the sounds of it, Emmett had acted quite the opposite to his loud and boisterous character. "Shy" and "Sweet" Rose had called him.

I hadn't spoken to Edward since Saturday, but I had decided I would call him when I got home.

"This is so cute! And why wasn't I told about this by the way?"

This was _exactly _the reason why Alice wasn't told about this. Because she was programmed to squeal at and over dramatise the situation.

"I can't believe that you and Edward set us up!" Rosalie exclaimed, given me a what-were-you-thinking kind of look.

I scoffed. "Yeah, like you're complaining about it…"

Rosalie blushed a little, dropping her eyes.

I gawped. Rosalie Hale. Blushing? What had made her so shy about the topic?

"You're blushing," Alice giggled, in a patronizing tone.

"Evidently," Rosalie said through gritted teeth.

"Aww, cheer up Rose! You're seeing Emmett on Wednesday!" I smiled at her encouragingly.

Her face lit up immediately, and I grinned triumphantly.

"WHAT?!" Alice screamed loudly. We hadn't got to that bit yet.

"Alice, shut up! I don't want half of Forks hearing this conversation!" Rosalie glared at her.

Fat chance that would happen. Alice's house was surrounded by terrain, then there was a long road before you got to the centre of Forks, where the rest of the town lived.

"Alright, alright!" Alice dropped her voice to a whisper. "But you're seeing him on Wednesday?"

"Yes," Rosalie nodded happily. "We're going to Port Angeles."

Alice let out a silent squeal of joy, whilst Rosalie smiled to herself, and I examined my nails, having already heard most of this on the drive back home on Saturday.

"Oh my gosh! Rose, you have to let me help you get ready!"

"I can dress myself you know Alice, I'm not incapable of"-

"It's not the point, you need our advice"-

"Are you saying I have no sense of style?" Asked Rosalie, offended.

I sighed to myself. It often came as no surprise to me when Rose and Alice started to argue. Neither of them would actually fall out with each other, but they bickered none the less, to my annoyance. I wasn't happy to say that I was gradually becoming used to it.

"No, I'm just saying that we can help you get ready! Come on, what did you think I meant? Of course you have style, you know that already!" Alice argued in reply.

"Yes, but you were implying that I"-

"Oh of course I was implying that you had no style. Because I always imply the negative don't I?"

"Actually, a lot of the time Alice, you do!" Rosalie screeched.

"Oh really? Well you know what, you can"-

"Are you going to shut up anytime soon?" I asked, bored.

An hour later, I was at home. Alice and Rosalie had stopped arguing after I persuaded them both that it was unnecessary for them to argue about the fact that we wore clothes.

I was actually waiting for Edward to pick up his mobile, which I was ringing as I paced my room.

"Hello?" His musical voice answered, complete perfection.

"Hey! It's me!" I said brightly.

"Hi, how are you?" He asked, his tone cheering up as he realised who it was.

"Me? I'm great, and you?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine." He replied quickly.

"So… did you find out what was up with Jasper on Saturday?" I asked. He had apparently left, acting glum and grumpy, not talking much.

"Actually, I did." Edward said, "You'll never believe this! Jasper like Rosalie!"

I felt my jaw drop, and I stood still for a full 30 seconds.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was asking nervously on the other end of the line.

"Sorry." I muttered, shaking my head. "Are you kidding? _Jasper _likes _Rose_?!"

"Yep, she's hardly his type, is she?" Edward sounded just as surprised as I felt, even though he had had the full day to adjust to this news.

"Not in the slightest! But what about Emmett? Does he know?"

"Nope. I'm not gunna' be the one to tell him that anytime soon either. Have you seen the size of him?"

"Mhmm, I get what you mean."

"And Jasper has been acting weird around him all day, poor Emmett's clueless. In fact, Jasper has been a complete mardy arse the entire day."

"Jeez, talk about being hung up," I contemplated.

"Tell me about it." Edward agreed.

"Well, what can we do? Rose adores Emmett, and Emmett seemed pretty keen on her too!"

"I reckon it will pass," said Edward, but he sounded unsure.

We both were thinking the same thing. When Jasper fell for someone, he fell hard.

"Let's hope so," I nodded to myself.

We carried on talking about other things that had happened throughout the day.

I talked about how Tyler had asked me out again, and Edward started laughing as he mentioned that I had been invited to Mike Newton's party in a few weeks. This surprised me, because I had only met Mike several times. I highly doubted that I would go.

We talked for ages, until I looked up at the clock, which read 12:01.

"Shit, Edward! Look at the time! I still need a shower too! I better go, but I'll speak to you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. See you Bella!"

"Bye," I replied, before exiting the call and hopping in to the shower quickly afterwards.

The shower was soothing, and I washed my hair before getting out, getting in to a big t-shirt that was otherwise known as my pyjamas and then brushing my teeth before clambering in to bed.

My brain was buzzing. Emmett and Rose had a date. Jasper liked Rose. Mike Newton had invited me to his house party. Yet still, I could not help feeling disappointed that Edward and I had not spoke any further on our feelings. Would the time ever actually come, or would it just be one of those things that we said would happen, but never actually got around to. Well, that was my prediction at this rate.

_Agh. _I scolded myself, because I had promised myself that I would give Edward time. Yet why was I so impatient for that to end? Couldn't I even wait a month or two? Would it actually be that long? If it was, then what was I going to do? There was no way I could wait that long. Not a chance.

Sighing to myself, I rolled on to my side, before letting sleep over take me.

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**A/N: There you have it, a bit of a filler I guess. But you're not getting anymore until you _REVIEW!_**


	12. Just Dance

**Disclaimer: The plot is mine, just not the characters...**

**A/N: Here is the next chapter, seeing as lovely people reviewed :)**

**Okay, this chapter is a bit different, but you will realise why!**

**There you go:

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Before any of us knew it, Emmett and Rosalie were dating. They had kissed on there first date, and that was already several weeks ago.

In fact, before I knew it, Christmas was approaching.

There was the usual hustle and bustle of present shopping, and everyone was excited. Everyone, except me.

To my disappointment, but not surprise, Edward had not talked to me at all about our relationship. Every time I saw him, I had hoped for him to bring it up, with no such luck. It had been a whole month now, since we had had our reunion, and he had mentioned his time, but he hadn't even talked to me about it since then!

I, however, was not going to bring up the topic (look what happened last time I had done that) I was going to wait, as I had promised myself I would, however much it killed me.

No, tonight, I was going to do something very foolish- attend Mike Newton's Christmas party. I was taking Alice and Rose with me (we could bring our own guests), even though Rose was going with Emmett, and Edward would be there too. I wondered to myself whether Jasper would make an appearance. He wasn't so keen on parties, but usually went to them anyway. He, however, had been skulking around in the background since Emmett had started dating Rosalie. He really had been quite taken by her.

I was round at Alice's house, as we were getting ready round there.

"Bella, pass me the mascara please!" Alice called from her dressing table.

I was in front of the mirror, eyeing my outfit cautiously as Alice sorted her make-up out and Rosalie was getting changed in the bathroom.

I was wearing a plain black V-neck top, with sleeves that stopped at my elbow. It was the skirt that worried me. It was blue and patterned, and was also high-waisted. **(A/N: Outfits on my profile)** I also wore black tights, some black heels that I could actually walk in and a pendant.

"And whilst you do that, get away from the mirror! You look amazing Bella!"

I chucked her the mascara, and left the mirror.

"I don't know Alice, it's not very me."

"Bella"-

"And I look stupid," I added.

"Oh rubbish," she snapped. "You're keeping it on! Look Rose! Tell Bella she looks great!"

Rosalie had just exited Alice's bathroom, looking amazing in a plain but still beautiful grey dress **(A/N: Profile)**.

Rosalie nodded, "Bella, you look amazing!"

I sighed. "You look great Rose!"

"She doesn't believe us," Alice muttered in an undertone.

An hour later, we were ready to go. Me and Rosalie had curled our hair, whilst Alice straightened hers, and we had all sorted our make-up out. Alice now also wore a stripy dress **(A/N: On profile)**.

We drove in Alice's car to Mike's house, which was already crowded when we arrived. His parents were apparently away on holiday.

Loud music could be heard from inside, as we all walked up the lawn.

There was a couple making out next to the front door on the porch, so we averted our eyes as we entered the building, the door already unlocked.

"Oh my, why did we bother coming?" I asked in a reluctant voice as we looked around the entrance room.

People were stumbling around drunkenly, and there were more couples sat on the stairs. However, the main catastrophe seemed to be in the living room.

As we reached there, the room was hot and crowded, many people dancing, and the music unbearably loud. I couldn't recognise anybody in there state, because they were all either drunk or dancing madly.

"Come on!" Alice squealed excitedly. She loved parties, as did Rose, but she was more enthusiastic to see Emmett.

We pushed our way to the back of the room, where there was a drinks table, and little food. However, I lost Rosalie and Alice in the crowd.

Eventually, I reached my destination. Emmett was there, and to my delight, Jasper.

"Hey!" I cheered, once I was close enough for them to hear me.

"Bella!" Emmett called happily, rushing over to hug me.

"Hi." Jasper nodded to show he had acknowledged me. He really did look down.

He had shadows under his eyes, and was holding a beer in his hand, which I was guessing was definitely not his first.

"Where's Edward?" I asked, wanting to see him.

"Erm…" Emmett started. "I'm not really sure, actually."

"Oh… okay."

"Bella!" I turned around to see Mike Newton, who stumbled slightly before reaching me.

"Hi Mike," I said politely.

"W-when did youuuuu get here?" He slurred.

"Just now."

"Oh, well… have a drink!" He grabbed a bottle roughly off the table, before thrusting it in to my hand.

"Er… thanks Mike."

"Well see you in a bit!"

He disappeared in to the crowd.

"More like when you're drunk," Emmett growled through gritted teeth.

I talked to Emmett for a while, Jasper not making much conversation.

I wandered where Alice and Rose had gotten to, or Edward for that matter.

I sipped on my drink, until I had finished it, when it was immediately replaced. I was starting to feel slightly light headed.

"J-Jasper. Come and dance!" I tried to persuade him, seeing as he had been in such a dull mood.

"No, no…."

"Come on!" I grabbed his hand, and tugged him out in to the crowd, where many people were dancing.

Jasper was just as drunk as I was, except he was less lively, more depressed.

I started to dance, eventually persuading Jasper to.

That's when I saw him. He was in the corner of the room, a girl between him and the wall, whom he was kissing furiously.

My heart froze. What was he _doing?_ I thought he had wanted time, not another girl! I felt anger pulse through me.

I stumbled and fell on to Jasper. I was much too drunk to notice what I was doing.

"Bella? Are you okay?" He asked, laughing.

"Mhmm…" I droned.

I decided not to focus on what I had seen just yet.

"Shall we go outside? It's boiling in here."

I nodded in agreement, and the both of us managed to make it outside, where the cold night air hit us both.

"Ugh, it's cold!" I sulked. I had somehow managed to pick up another drink on my way out, as had Jasper. How, I was at a loss to. I had already lost count of how many I had had. Five, maybe six even.

I walked along the porch, until I tripped over a chair, falling flat, dragging Jasper with me as I clutched on to his hand.

"Ah!" He cried, as we both hit the ground, facing each other.

"Sorry," I giggled.

He shook his head, laughing too. He had definitely cheered up since the start of the evening.

We stared at each other for a minute, before Jasper inclined his head forward.

Without thinking, I did the same, until our lips met. I kissed him roughly, too drunk to realise what I was doing. I grabbed the back of his head, winding my fingers in to his hair as I did so. Our breathing became ragged, as we continued to kiss. His tongue ran along my bottom lip, and I eagerly allowed him entrance. We ended up staying outside for quite some time.

A while later, I was back inside, on my own now, Jasper having wondered off somewhere.

My head was spinning, and I was staggering across the hallway to the other living area. It was a big house.

I knew that I shouldn't have kissed Jasper, and I would regret it later, but I had been so angry at what I had seen, Edward, kissing someone else. Maybe he was drunk. In fact, he probably had been. I was drunk when I had kissed Jasper, I still was!

I made it to the drawing room, which was crowded too, and collapsed on to the couch.

I don't know how long I sat there for, but eventually, I fell asleep.

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**A/N: Yeah, so she was drunk, of course she wouldn't normally do that. But please don't worry, everything will get back to normal soon enough, trust me!**

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	13. All These Things That I've Done

**Disclaimer: I am not the genius that came up with Twilight, that was Stephanie Meyer...**

**A/N: I am quite pleased with myself, because I actually managed to get an update in the middle of the week :) I decided to try and update, because I got a good few reviews,**

**you should all thank those lovely people who did review, because if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be getting this until Friday! Okay, I do want to apologize**

**because this is quite a short chapter- however I did want to try and update :) - and also a bit of a filler I suppose. **

**Plus, the story now has over 20,000 words :))) ( a record from me seeing as I don't ever write too much in one chapter.**

**If you have any title suggestions, please let me know. I keep changing it ( as you may have realised) and I just found a story that is kinda similar and had the _exact_ same**

**title :/ Unless you think the title is okay, let me know!**

**I'll stop droning on now shall I?

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I rolled over on to my side, feeling oddly uncomfortable. My head was banging and I clutched my forehead as I lay there awkwardly.

I needed some Paracetamol.

I looked around as I opened my eyes, which widened, horrified, at what they saw.

About twenty odd people were slumped around the room, most fast asleep. A couple in the far corner were kissing, and another person was leant against the wall, clearly drunk and laughing to themselves.

I blinked, before attempting to stagger up. Where was I? What was I doing here?

Finally managing to stand up, I tried to walk forwards. My knees buckled, and I only just regained my balance.

Looking around, I realised it was still dark outside. I looked around for the time, and found one hung up on the wall above the fireplace. It read _4:59._

_Shit_ was the first thought that came to mind. I didn't have a clue what I was doing here, and I didn't have a clue where _here _was.

I made it to the door, and across a large hallway, where there was a front door. People were passed out on the stairs, and I had to step over one or two people who were asleep.

However, the worst was still to come. The living room floor was jam packed with people, booze, and random items of clothing.

I immediately noticed Alice, who was next to Edward, both of them talking quietly.

I tried to walk forwards, but ended up stepping on something squashy. Pulling my foot back quickly, I realised that I had stepped on somebody's arm. Squeaking, I stepped over them.

Alice looked up immediately at the sound, then realised it was me.

"Bella, are you okay?"

Edwards head shot up at the sound of my name. I took in his face, and he looked upset about something. There were deep shadows under his eyes, which looked troubled.

"Mhmm," I sighed.

I managed to reach Alice and Edward, after some difficulty.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked quickly.

Alice's expression turned worried, and Edward's turned more distressed.

"Bella, were still at Mike's!" Alice said, slightly shocked.

"Mikes…?" I asked, confused. Why were we at Mikes?

Then, "Oh! _Fuck! _We've been here _all_ night?"

Alice nodded solemnly.

I looked at Edward, but he didn't seem to want to look at me. He simply hung his head.

"What happened?" I asked. I couldn't remember a thing.

"I don't know Bella. I think Rose and Emmett are upstairs somewhere though…"

Ugh. I didn't want to know what Rose and Emmett were doing upstairs.

"And Jasper?" I asked tentatively.

Edward flinched, and shot a funny look at me, one of hurt and frustration.

"Uhh, Jasper?"

"Oh, never mind," I shook my head. Alice had never met Jasper before.

"Are you alright Edward?" I eyed him cautiously.

He looked up again, his face still wearing the mask of frustration. "Fine." He said through gritted teeth.

"Are you su-"

"Yes."

"Well then…"

"I'm going to get Jazz and Emmett, we should be going now." Edward's voice was blunt.

Without another word, he crossed the room and walked out.

"Have I done something wrong?" I asked Alice. I was asking _a lot_ of questions.

"I don't know," said Alice confused. "You just sort of… disappeared for the best part of the evening."

"Oh god, I bet I've done something bad."

Alice shook her head. "It can't be as bad as me." She looked glum.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I kissed about five different people, and went a bit further with one of them! I don't even know who any of them were!"

"Oh."

"Oh." She nodded. "I mean I think I actually went to second base with one of them!"

"Oh god."

"Yeah."

"I have such a bad headache," I complained, rubbing my head where it hurt.

"Join the club," said Alice bitterly.

"Why the hell did we even come?"

"I really can't answer that question."

"And where has Rose gone? Wouldn't she have come done if Emmett went?"

Right on que, Rosalie marched in. She didn't actually look too bad, but I wasn't going to be the judge of anything.

"Ugh, you two look awful!" She grinned, as she made her way over to us.

"Yeah, feel it too…" I grumbled.

"I'm not surprised, I mean Jasper!?" She exclaimed.

_Woah! _What about Jasper. What had I done?

"What? What do you mean, you mean Jasper?!" I said, slightly high-pitched and panicky.

"I mean the fact that you made out with Jasper!"

_Shit! _

"I-I what?!" But it was all coming back to me now. Out on the front porch, lay down by that stupid chair I had tripped over, him on top of me… I didn't want to think about it. The thought made me sick. I had been friends with Jasper for several years, and I wanted to keep it like that. Not like Edward. _Edward._ What the hell had I done? I had gone with Jasper when I was supposed to be waiting for Edward! Jasper, one of Edward's best friends! Edward would hate us, I was sure of it. I had ruined everything. And I had thought I had ruined it the last time…

"Bella?" Rosalie sounded worried.

"Edward!" I squeaked.

Rosalie gasped, and Alice's hand flew up to her mouth.

"Oh my god, what are you going to do?" Alice questioned frantically. "Does he know?"

"I think so," Rosalie nodded. "He was the one that told Emmett.

"Oh shit. I have to talk to him!" I cried.

Rosalie nodded understandingly. "I think he's still here, Em went to look for Jasper. He's outside."

Without a second glance, I was out of the room, out of the front door, striding across the grass to where the cars were parked. Edward wasn't there. Scanning around desperately, I finally found him.

There he was, pacing round the edge of the trees that were the forest. I couldn't see him properly, because it was dark, but I could tell from his height, shape, and the way he was walking that this was Edward.

I turned on the spot, and walked towards him. I had some trouble, as my heels decided to sink in to the grass, so I pulled them off and left them there on the grass. I realised how sore my feet were, as my heels ached from the shoes. Tiptoeing across the lawn to avoid any pain, I finally reached him.

He was facing away from me, so I couldn't be sure that he had seen me.

Breathing in a sigh, I whispered out in to the night, "Edward."

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**I guess you could call that a cliff hanger? You know the drill... review! (More reviews=faster update!)  
**

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	14. Why Don't You Hate Me?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**A/N: Sorry it's late! However, it is a bit longer...

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**

There was silence, and Edward did not turn to face me. Then, "You must hate me." His perfect voice sounded strained, upset, and full of grief. Yet I was confused. He had just said _I _must hate _him_. Shouldn't it be the other way round?

"W-what do you mean?" I stammered. I didn't have a clue what he meant.

"I mean the fact that I'm messing you around. I don't blame you for… well…" He trailed off.

What the hell was he on about? How was he messing me around? Well, unless he meant the time thing, but that was hardly messing me around, was it?

"Edward, what the hell are you on about?"

"Oh come on Bella, as if you didn't see me."

My brain worked hard to try and figure out what he was talking about, yet it drew to no conclusion.

"_See what_, Edward?" I asked, completely at a loss.

There was a loud sigh. "Don't act like you didn't see Bella, it was right in the middle of the living room!" He was still faced away from me, and he moved towards one of the trees, where he leant his forehead against the trunk.

"Wha-?"

"Me and Jessica!" He cried, his voice full of agony. I flinched at the sound of it, the sound of his perfect voice distressed, the mention of Jessica Stanley.

Oh. And I remembered now; remembered seeing Edward with someone, against the wall in the living room…

"Oh," Was all I could say. But I wasn't mad, because I knew that I was no better. In fact I was worse. Jasper was my friend, and Edward's.

"Yeah, _oh_."

"Edward, I don't hate you!" I exclaimed.

"Right, you don't have to say that Bella."

"I don't, but I want to! I do _not_ hate you Edward!"

He sighed again. "Then you're pretty stupid not to Bella. You shouldn't stand for it. You're too good for that. You're too good for me."

I physically felt my jaw drop. _Edward Cullen_ telling me_ I _wasn't good enough for _him. _"What the hell are you on about, you're talking bull shit," I murmured quietly, but I knew he could here me.

He snorted. "Hardly."

"Edward, you're being ridiculous," I whispered.

I waited. I was almost certain he was about to say something, but then-

"EDWARD! WE'RE GOING!" Emmett's voice boomed across the garden.

Edward turned to my direction, but did not look at me, merely muttering, "See you around, Bella," before walking straight past me, hands stuffed in his pockets, head bowed, as he headed towards Emmett and Jasper by the car, neither of who gave me so much as a glance.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and immediately brought my hand up to wipe them away before they could escape.

*

Some few days later, I was at school, sat in French as the teacher rambled on about how we shouldn't confuse tenses when writing our next essay. I, however, was not paying attention. My mind was a blur, trying to figure out how to get past this situation. Should I speak to Edward about what had happened, or would he just start moping around about himself again? We had spoken since the party, but neither of us had mentioned anything, and the conversation had been awkward. _Extremely _awkward.

"Miss Swan, care to answer the question?" Miss Danes swooped down upon me, her expression angry, her lips pursed.

"Huh? What did you" –

"Evidently, you have not been paying attention! Do you want to pass your exams or not?!" She scowled.

"Yes."

"Well then, I suggest you start paying attention, and pay me a visit after school, where we can discuss the pros and cons of learning!"

I stared at her, my face a mask of anger and incredulity. Detention for not listening to _one _question?

"But Miss, that's"-

"That's quite enough from you!" She screeched, before turning away from me and continuing her lesson.

Ugh. Just what I needed. Detention.

Some time later, the bell rang. I was prepared to make a quick exit, but before I could do however, I felt a finger tap on my shoulder. Turning around, my heart sank as I saw Jessica Stanley. I hadn't spoken to her at all since the party. We weren't exactly friends, but I had nothing against her- well, I _didn't _have anything against her, I couldn't say that anymore.

"Hi Bella!" She smiled, although she looked a little uncomfortable.

"Err, hi." I knew my voice sounded icy and flat, but I didn't give a shit.

"Yeah, I was just wondering, did you have Edward's number? I kinda' wanted to talk to him…"

My eyes widened, and I felt a shock of anger shoot through me. She wanted his number?

"Erm…" There was no way in hell she was getting it, but I didn't know what to say. _Fuck off Jess, you're not going anywhere near him. _Yeah, because that would work.

Then, what I considered to be a blessing from God happened.

"Bella, a word please." I had never liked Miss Danes more as she interrupted our conversation. "Miss Stanley, off you go!"

I couldn't help but smirk at the crest fallen expression that flickered across Jess's face as she left the room. I was sure to keep a straight face, however, as I turned to face Miss Danes.

"Yes Miss?" I asked politely.

"I'm concerned about your lack of attention in my lessons, Bella. This is the fourth time this week I have caught you thinking elsewhere."

I paused before answering that. "Err, yeah. I've just sort of had a lot on my mind at the moment, that's all. I promise I won't let it get in the way of lessons again."

She nodded. "Yes, you had better make sure of that. Now, off you go, I'll see you after school!"

I left the room and went straight to lunch, where I spotted Alice and Rosalie at a table. I went over without getting any food. I didn't feel like eating much.

"Ugh!" I hissed, before sinking down in to a chair.

"What's wrong with you?" Asked Alice, curiosity filling her wide eyes.

"Jessica Stanley," I growled "Wants Edward's bloody number."

Rosalie dropped her fork. "You're kidding?!"

"Nope."

"And she actually asked you?"

"Yup."

"What did you say?" Alice inquired.

"Err."

"Err… what?" Rose leaned in.

"Just err, Miss Danes cut in after that. Bloody life saver."

I explained to them both how she had given me a detention and told me to pay attention in class more often.

"Cow," Alice stated.

I laughed dryly, and the conversation moved on.

"So Rose, you and Emmett at the party?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

Rosalie dropped her eyes to her empty plate. "What about it?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "I mean, what happened?!"

Rosalie didn't meet either of our eyes, nor did she answer. Alice's eyes widened. "No way!"

Rosalie didn't say anything.

My eyes widened too. "Seriously?"

She nodded.

"Rose!" Alice squeaked, a little louder than she should have done.

"Shut up Alice!"

"Oh my god!" She squeaked again, quieter this time.

"Don't say anything!" She looked up suddenly, a look of pleading in her eyes.

"Yeah Rose, we're going to tell the whole school you and Emmett had se-"

"Shut up!" She cut me off.

"Sorry."

Alice didn't though, she went on about it all dinner time, much to Rosalie's annoyance.

The day passed, and then detention, until it was time for me to go home.

I almost ran to my truck, desperate to get home. Getting straight in it and starting the engine, I pushed the gas pedal down, making it go as fast as it could. This was saying something- I never drove fast. When I eventually reached home, I parked in the drive.

However, something caught my eye- a glint of silver. I turned in the direction of it, and to my shock, I saw a Volvo parked at the front of my house. A very familiar Volvo- Edward's.

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**A/N: Hmmm... I didn't know what to put in this chapter, so that's what I cam up with (which I'm sure you realised).**

**Anyway... I'm expecting some reviews before I update ;)**

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	15. Talk

**Disclaimer: I didn't write Twilight, but if I did... Well, that's a dream that will never come true**

**A/N: Earlier update- yeah by about a day! But anyway, I was planning to post this tomorrow! Thankyou for all the reviews I have had, your keeping me in a good enough mood **

**to keep writing this story! :)**

**Anyway, I'm not going to blabber today, here it is:

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"We need to talk," Edward's voice was strained as he sat down on the end of my bed. Charlie was downstairs, and evidently this was not a conversation Edward wished for him to hear.

"Then talk," I gestured for him to start. I was almost positive this was about the Christmas party.

"Well, about the party…" _There you go! _"Well, I made a stupid mistake. I shouldn't have… I didn't know what I was doing… I won't be surprised if you blame me… I mean"-

I cut him off here. "Edward, it generally helps when you form complete sentences!"

"Err, yeah. So, I guess I just wanted to apologize for going with Jessica at the party. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, I was drunk and…" His face was contorted in pain and anger (which I knew was at himself).

"Edward, you already apologized, remember?" I raised an eyebrow at him sceptically.

"Yeah, but I wanted to apologize properly."

"When you're already forgiven?"

"Yes."

I rolled my eyes. This was ridiculous. "Look Edward, I understand you want to apologize, but I already forgive you- accept it!" I smiled at him. "Besides, I'm the one who should be apologizing. Did you manage to remember what I did?" I was still totally ashamed, but I was trying to make him less angry at himself. I hated seeing him upset.

"Yes, but you only did that because you saw me!"

I had no answer to that. The truth was that I couldn't remember what it was that had caused me to make out with Jasper for half the night.

"I haven't even spoken to Jasper, has he said anything?" I asked hastily, keen to get away from Edward's statement.

"He hasn't said a word."

"Oh. Well… Jessica asked for your phone number today…" I glanced up at Edward's face just in time to see his beautiful green eyes widen in horror.

"Your bloody joking?!"

I shook my head evilly- no.

"Ugh, what did you say?" He asked, a panic visible in his eyes.

"I said sure, here you go." I stated simply.

"BEL"-

"Bloody hell Edward! I was _joking! _Do you really think I would have given her your number? I'm not an idiot, give me some credit!"

Relief flooded Edward's face as he realized that I had not been telling the truth.

"Don't _do_ that!" He exclaimed in an exasperated tone.

"Well, it actually worked! How could you not tell I was lying?" I smirked. "I'll try more often if that's your reaction."

"You can try," Edward grinned, regaining his composure, "But I'm prepared this time!"

"Wanna' bet buddy?"

"Oh yeah!"

"You'll see!" Actually I had no further plans on how to get him to believe one of my lies (I needed a lie first) but I could let him worry.

"Anyway… Listen Edward, I sort of need to talk to you." I hated myself for doing this, but whilst we were on serious conversations, this needed to be done. A part of me was thinking _Leave it, that's enough serious conversation for one day! _But I knew that if I didn't say it now, when would I?

"Shoot."

"Well, this time malarkey, I'm not nagging, I just want to know where you're at. I'm guessing Jessica was a bit of a late rebound, but otherwise we haven't talked about this at all." I didn't look up, and I could feel my face heat up, and didn't need to look in a mirror to know that it had gone red.

There was a silence, in which I guess Edward was trying to find the right words to say. "Well… Jessica had nothing to do with anything. But time wise… I don't know where I'm up to myself. That's sort of why I've been avoiding the topic. My feelings, Bella. They have not changed in the slightest. I'm just finding it hard to face the fact that this is going to happen. I've been in a big relationship, and I don't think I'm over that yet. I don't want you getting the wrong idea; I _do _want this to happen Bella. Trust me I do. I feel horrible for making you wait, stringing you along until I'm ready. It shouldn't be about me, I should be about you, and I know I'm being selfish and"-

_This boy is hopeless. _"Edward! Don't you dare call yourself selfish! You are _not _stringing me along, we discussed that you needed time before anything happened, and I accepted that, I still do! I just wanted to know where you were up to. You never talk about anything serious anymore. You keep it all locked away."

Edward didn't reply, so I looked up to see him staring down at is hands, a look of confusion on his face. I wasn't going to press what was bothering him. If he wanted to tell me, he would have done already.

"So, Christmas next week!" I felt a change of subject was in order… again.

"Yes!" Edward agreed enthusiastically. Evidently he was in the same mind that the conversation needed to move away from the deep stuff.

"What day do you break up next week?"

"Thursday, you?"

I groaned. "Friday."

"Great, I'll come pick you up! We can go to Port Angeles with Em and Rose!"

"I should really invite Alice too, she'll feel left out."

Edward nodded. "Maybe Jasper too- unless you'd rather not. I'd understand completely."

"No, invite him. I have to do it sooner or later." Facing Jasper was definitely going to be awkward, but like I say, it's going to happen one day anyway, why put it off?

"Right, or maybe we could go down to First Beach? I haven't been there in a while!" Edward's face lit up at the thought.

"Fine!" I groaned, although I wasn't that bothered really- I didn't mind the beaches down at La Push. Besides, if Edward thought I was unhappy about it, he would buy me an ice-cream, he always did.

"Excellent!"

"Sure is," I muttered lamely.

"I also got your present the other day!" He said gleefully.

"Elaborate."

"Eh, nice try, but I'm not saying anything!"

"Of course you are, spill!"

"Uh uh!"

"You don't have to buy me an ice-cream at the beach!" I said wildly.

"Nope, I will not give in to bribe- wait, who said anything about ice-cream?"

I grinned expectantly at him.

"I should have known!" He mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, you should!" I nodded enthusiastically.

"I don't specialise in telepathy!"

"Could have fooled me."

"Bollocks."

"Language."

"Shut it you."

"Make me."  
"Are you sure you want me too?"

"No." The look on his face warned me not to say otherwise.

The house phone rang downstairs. It was picked up Charlie. Me and Edward carried on our mock argument, until Charlie called up the stairs, "Edward! Your father says your tea's nearly ready!"

Edward sighed, before scrambling off the bed. "I best go then."

I got up too.

We with walked down the stairs, and I went with him to the front door.

"Friday after school!" I said sharply.

"Yes Ma'am," Edward saluted me.

I laughed before saying, "See you."

"In a bit," He winked, before hugging me, then turning to walk out on to the drive towards his beloved Volvo.

I sighed before turning back in to the house. At leas he hadn't forgotten. I tried to push it out of my mind for a while however, as I walked in to the kitchen, and began making tea.

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**A/N: There may happen to be another update this weekend if I recieve decent amount of reviews :)**

**Anyway, I have had a really busy week, so it took great effort to force myself to write this because I am soooooo tired, but hey what's new?**

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	16. The Truth

**Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Twilight... as if you didn't know that already :/  
**

**A/N: Firstly I want to apologize for the late update, and even this chapter is short! My internet broke and then I didn't have time once it was fixed because I have that much work! However, this is the first EPOV of the story. To be honest I don't like different points of views normally in stories, but there isn't really any other way to explain this! Thanks for the reviews, although I must say I got more story alerts and favourites than reviews. **

**Anyway:**

**EPOV

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**

My mind raced as I got in to my car. I had told Bella what I really felt. Well, most of it.

I had said I wasn't over my big _relationship_. I guess I should have said I wasn't over _Tanya_. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew it was true. I still felt something for her, I just couldn't tell what. It was such a spur of the moment thing when I had finished her; I guess I didn't really know what I was doing. I definitely did not regret finishing the relationship; I just knew that I didn't want her seeing me in a relationship so quick, any chance of her getting hurt, I wanted to avoid that.

I know Jessica was a rebound too; I just didn't want Bella to know how close I had come to multiple rebounds. Of course, I had not been sober in any of these situations, but I still felt bad. I was messing Bella around. My Bella. Bella who I had known for forever. Bella who I loved so dearly.

I was having an inner battle with myself. I didn't want Tanya getting hurt by me starting a new relationship with Bella, but I didn't want Bella to get hurt with me moping around, not letting her in on my mind, and dragging out my 'time' period. Either way, I couldn't win.

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**A/N: Uh huh, it's that short! But if you review then I'm sure there will be another update this weekend!**

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	17. Long Time No See

**Disclaimer: I'm not the genius who created Twilight...**

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I said I would update the other weekend, especially if you reviewed which you did! Thankyou for the reviews! Anyway, here is the next chapter:

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It was now Friday, the last day of term. The school had been restless, waiting to hear the final bell telling everyone that the holidays had started.

I for one didn't give a crap. As much as I was looking forward to them, I was _not _looking forwards to going to La Push. Yes, I loved the beaches- even if the weather was cold- but I was fretting over seeing Jasper. What if he was annoyed with me? Well, it would be awkward or sure. I felt like I had pushed him in to the situation. I was the one who made him get up and dance, got him in to a better mood. I had taken it out on Jasper when I had seen Edward kissing Jessica. It wasn't fair on him, and I hadn't even had chance to apologize. Well, I would this evening; I would make sure of it.

Right now I was sat in my Math class. Like a lot lately, I was not paying attention to anything that was being said, but on this occasion I don't think anybody was.

Soon enough (too soon), the bell rang.

"Okay everyone. Pack up!" The teacher spoke over the loud babble of voices.

I stuffed my book in my bag before standing up behind my chair.

"Off you all go, have a good Christmas!"

I walked very slowly out of my lesson, watching my feet as they walked. Then-

"Ouch!"

I jumped in surprise as I collided with somebody. However, I relaxed when I realised it was just Rose.

"Geez Bells, you could look where you're going." Rosalie said as we set off walking together. We were meeting Alice outside her lesson, then going to the car park where we would meet the boys.

"Sorry," I mumbled quietly.

Rosalie looked down at me to where I was ducking my head.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Sure," I lied miserably.

"You suck at that and you know it, spill."

I took a deep breathe before speaking. "I'm just worried about seeing Jasper. What if he hates me? I mean, I haven't spoken to him at all since the party, and I just know it will be awkward. I feel like it all happened because of me, and that I was just using him, playing him along or whatever you call it. I"-

"Woah!" Rosalie butted in. "You seriously think it was all down to you? Bella, you were both drunk, and he didn't pull away did he? Don't just blame yourself!"

I sighed. As much as Rosalie was probably talking some truth, I didn't feel any better. I just nodded as we reached Alice who was stood outside her class.

"Hey!" She greeted happily, practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

We both smiled at her, before Rosalie said, "Come on pixie," and dragged her by the arm out of the building.

Once in the crowded car park, my eyes scanned the area, trying to find Edward. I needed to talk to him. He would understand how I felt- not that Rosalie didn't, just that Edward and I were more on the same wave length.

I spotted him at once, leant against his Volvo, scanning the crowds of pupils for me I guessed.

I noticed people looking at him again, as well as Emmett and Jasper, who were sat on the bonnet.

Then, to my horror, I saw Jessica appear out of no where and approach Edward.

He immediately looked uneasy, staring at his hands which he usually did when he was unsure of what to say.

"Wait here," I told Alice and Rose.

They noticed Jessica and nodded, before I started off in that direction as fast as I could. I pushed past people in my haste.

"EDWARD!" I shouted once I was nearly there.

He looked up sharply, and his eyes met mine. A crooked smile appeared on his face. My crooked smile. I couldn't help but smile back, even though I needed to get Jessica away.

I reached him then, and his arm slid around my waist as he pulled me in to a hug.

"Hey," he said softly.

I looked up at him and smiled. Then I turned in mock surprise towards Jessica. "Oh, hi Jess. What's up?"

She looked slightly pissed at my arrival. "I was just talking to Edward," she said sourly.

"Oh, well we sort of need to get going. We're going down to La Push see, and if we don't go now it will be too late."

Jessica's face turned red. "Whatever," she snapped, before storming off. I saw her glance at Jasper and Emmett as she passed though. A lot of girls were staring at the three of them.

"Thanks," Edward grinned.

"No problem."

Alice and Rosalie arrived, obviously realising the problem had been avoided.

"Hi guys," Rosalie smiled round at everyone before going to sit next to Emmett.

I glanced at Jasper, who was staring at his feet. A rush of guilt swept through me.

"Hello!" Alice cheered happily.

We all laughed at her enthusiasm. Jasper's head shot up at the sound of Alice's voice, his eyes widening as he stared at her. He looked… well, awe struck.

Alice looked around the group, her eyes falling on Jasper. She stared back at him.

"Ahem," Emmett cleared his throat.

Both of them looked away quickly, and I noticed Alice blushing. Alice!

Emmett smirked before saying, "Should we set off then?"

Edward nodded, "Yeah, we should."

I kept me eyes trained on Edward. I didn't want to catch Jaspers eye.

"Okay! Who's in which car?" Rose asked.

"I'm in Edwards." I said before I could stop myself.

Edward looked down at me, surprised at my forwardness. A question was forming behind his eyes, but I quickly looked away to my feet, option number two to avoid looking at Jasper.

"Okay, do you lot want to come in my car then?" Rosalie asked. At least she sensed I wanted to talk to Edward.

"Sure," they all said.

"Right, we'll go ahead then." Edward said.

"See you guys in a bit!" Alice waved, and the rest of them muttered their goodbyes.

I only looked up once I was sure they were gone.

"Right, what's up?" Edward asked immediately, once he was sure they were all out of ear shot.

I looked up at Edward. His face was concerned.

I walked round the side of the car, opening the door and getting in to my seat.

I saw Edward as he followed my path with his eyes, before swing open his own door and getting in next to me.

"Speak," he said.

"Jasper."

Edward looked down at me as he started the engine. "Yes?"

"I- I don't know how to act around him."

The engine purred as Edward drove the car out of the now empty parking lot.

"Because of the party?"

"Yes," I said quietly.

I felt a bit bad talking to Edward about this, as I was sure it was not his favourite topic.

Edward let out a sigh. "Bella, I _have_ spoken to Jasper about this you know."

"And?" I asked cautiously.

"He feels bad. Bad because he feels like he took advantage of you, and bad because… well, because of us two."

I hadn't thought about that. But taking advantage?

"He did _not_ take advantage of me. It was practically the other way round!"

Edward looked slightly hurt. "Try telling him that."

"I will."

Edward nodded.

"So, he doesn't hate me?"

I looked at Edward as he turned his head towards me. All look of hurt was gone; his face went smooth until he burst out laughing. "Why the hell would he hate you?!" He got out between laughs.

"I-I…" I tried to say something.

"Honestly Bella!" Edward carried on laughing.

I felt my face turn a deep red as I looked forward at the road. "Shut up," I mumbled.

It took me a while to calm Edward down after that, but the conversation was over.

"So, you let Emmett and Jasper sit on the car bonnet! I'm shocked!" I said, smiling as I spoke.

"Well, they won't again. That was a one off."

"Aw, so you won't let me?" I pouted.

Edwards face looked guilty, before he muttered, "Fine, you're an exception."

I beamed triumphantly. Looking out of the window, I saw the beaches of La Push.

"We're here!" I smiled.

"Yep," Edward smiled back.

We got out of the car once we were parked up, and I noticed a group of teenagers stood around on the other side of the parking area.

Rosalie's car arrived a minute later. "Hi," she said, as she got some bags out of the boot of her car.

"Hey," I said back.

We got everything out that we needed, before heading off to the path that lead down to the beach. But before we could get there"-

"Bella!"

I looked round to where my name had been called.

A boy was walking towards us from the group of teenagers. A tall boy with tanned skin, black hair that fell to his shoulders and a smile across his face.

"Err, hi. Do- do I know you?" I asked, sounding confused.

"We went to Elementary together! I don't know whether you remember me? Jacob Black?" The boy asked.

Behind me, I was sure I saw Edward stiffen.

I definitely remembered Jacob Black.

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**A/N: Oooh, kind of a cliff hanger! If you have time, I would appreciate it if you could look at my other stories too :) I have only just started them but I hope they are okay!**

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	18. Seaside

**Disclaimer: I think we all know I'm not the author of Twilight...**

**A/N: Thankyou thankyou thankyou for ALL of your reviews! I got lots more than I expected! You all cheered me up :D Sorry I didn't update straight away, I've been really busy :/**

**Anyway, ignore me-

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4th grade to 6th grade, me and Jacob had gone out. Of course, it was one of those silly immature relationships, but I had still been upset when the day came for us to go our separate ways- you could also call this middle school.

I had always put Edward first obviously, and spent much more time with him, but I still saw an awful lot of Jacob.

However, Edward and Jacob had always hated each other, for reasons I couldn't pick up on.

"Jacob?" I asked. This guy looked nothing like the Jacob I remembered.

He nodded his head. "Yup."

"You've grown," was the only thing I could think to say. I knew I sounded like an idiot, especially because I heard a snigger behind me that was most definitely Emmett.

"Err, thanks…"

I shook my head, "Sorry."

Behind me, I saw Alice, Rose, Jasper and Emmett set off down the path towards the beach. Edward however, did not move.

I turned round to him, widening my eyes as if to say 'it's okay'. I watched as his eyes dropped and he turned to follow the rest of the group, bag slung over his shoulder, kicking the sand that had drifted up from the beach as he went.

A pang of guilt swept through me, but for now I pushed it aside.

"Anyway, how've you been?" I asked, turning back to Jacob.

"Me? I've been great. I'm at the school in La Push now, closer to home, you know?"

I nodded.

"What about you?"

"Yeah, well I'm at Forks High. Pretty shit to be honest but what can you do?"

Jacob shrugged.

"So, are you coming down to the beach?" In a way I hoped he was, but it wouldn't be fair on Edward if he did.

"No," said Jacob looking disappointed. "We were just leaving actually."

"Oh," I said, looking at the ground.

-"But!" I looked up at the enthusiasm in Jacob's voice. "I can give you my number and we can meet up or something!"

I paused before answering. I wanted to know what Jacob meant by 'meet up'. On the down side, I couldn't really refuse. It would be rude. _Bella, you might never see him again, it wouldn't matter! _A voice in my head said. But_ you don't have to arrange to meet him if you do, just say you're busy or don't call him._ That seemed like the better on-the-spot decision.

"Sure," I smiled.

"Great!"

I pulled out my phone from my pocket, going on to _Add Contact_ as Jacob read out his number.

"Should I get yours?" Jacob asked.

"Oh…okay." I said. Bad move, now he could text me.

I read my number out as Jacob typed it in to his phone.

"Cool," he grinned once I had finished. "See you soon then?" He sounded hopeful, where as I was sure I sounded uneasy.

"Yeah, I better get back to the others…"

Jacob nodded, then a thought struck his face. "Hey, was that Edward back there?"

"Mhmm," I nodded.

"Oh," he didn't look to happy about this.

I smiled sheepishly, not knowing what else to do.

"Jake! You coming?" A boy yelled from the group. They were all in a car now, but the boy was leaning out the window.

"Yeah, one minute!" Jacob shouted back. "Listen, I better go but I'll speak to you soon okay?"

"Right. Bye!" I smiled.

"See you Bella," he grinned before turning round and jogging over to the vehicle.

I turned around to the path leading down to the beach, my mind buzzing.

I eventually reached the beach, where I saw everyone sat on blankets chatting.

Seeing as it was a cold day, Jasper was trying to get a fire started, and everyone, I noticed had brought big fleeces. I gulped- I hadn't.

"Bella!" Alice squealed as she noticed my return. Edward's and Jasper's heads both shot up. Jasper however, quickly looked down.

"Hi," I smiled.

"Who was that?" She asked curiously.

I glanced at Edward before speaking. He looked slightly annoyed. "Jacob, he went to mine and Edward's elementary. He was my boyfriend for a while."

"For 3 grades," Edward corrected me, his teeth gritted.

Alice's eyes widened. "Woah, seriously?"

"Calm down Alice, I was about 10."

She shrugged as I went to sit down next to Edward. He was sat crossed legged, staring at the ground.

"What's up?" I asked him, although I had a pretty good idea what it was.

Edward looked up, a smile across his perfect face, "Nothing."

I gave him a sardonic look, but he merely carried on smiling before looking away.

I sighed. Typical Edward.

The wind whistled through my hair as I sat there, and I was starting to wish I had tied it up. I was also regretting not bringing a jacket. I sat there shivering, even though Jasper had managed to get the fire started.

"Erm, Bella. Can I have a word?" I looked up at the sound of my voice being spoken by Jasper.

"Okay…" I said, my voice unsure. This could get awkward.

I stood up and walked over to where Jasper had already started walking.

We carried on for a while in silence until Jasper spoke.

"I just wanted to clear the air. You don't like me in _that_ way, right?"

"Right," I nodded.

"And you know that I don't like you as any more than a friend?"

"Even if I didn't I do now," I smiled.

Jasper grinned, "And-well, at the party… Let's just say we wouldn't have done any of that sober…"

"Of course not."

"So, can we leave it behind us?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and holding out his hand.

"Definitely," I agreed, shaking his hand.

"Good," He laughed.

We started walking back.

"So… Alice? She seems nice…" Jasper was watching his feet, and his voice sounded cautious.

"Oh?" I turned to get a better look at his face. "You like her don't you?"

"It's not that it's just"-

"Jasper…" I gave him a stern look.

"Okay maybe," he said extremely quickly.

"Yay!" I squealed, jumping up and down as he carried on walking, his pace quickening.

"Don't say anything Bella!" Jasper shouted back to me.

I ran to catch up with him. "Oh I won't," I said happily. _Lie, _I would tell Alice as soon as I got a spare minute. Not that Jasper would mind, it was so him to let it slip. He wanted me to tell her so he knew what she thought.

Jasper smirked on one side of his mouth, and we walked back, chatting happily- zero awkwardness, I was glad to say.

Once back at the fire, we roasted marshmallows and sat talking. It had grown dark around us, but none of us minded.

Rosalie pulled her camera out and started taking pictures. "Bella, get in one with Edward!" She demanded as she looked at the camera screen.

I wrapped my arms around Edward, putting my cheek on his cheek and smiling a cheesy smile.

Rosalie laughed, but Edward turned to me, saying, "You're freezing!"

"No," I lied.

Edward looked at me sternly. "You are. Take this." He took off his jacket and held it out towards me.

"No, you keep it. I'm fine."

"Just take the fucking jacket Bella," Edward said, although I could see a hint of a smile somewhere on his face.

I rolled my eyes before taking the jacket off him and pulling it over my head- it was one of those ones without a zip. It was already warm from Edward, not to mention it smelt amazing.  
"Thanks," I smiled at him.

We stayed about half an hour longer before packing everything up. I decided I would tell Alice tomorrow instead, seeing as she was to busy actually talking to Jasper. I had forgotten all about Jacob, and so it seemed had Edward.

Once we had everything and Emmett had put the fire out, we headed back up the path towards the cars. I got in to Edwards again, whilst Alice, Emmett and Jasper went in Rose's car again.

"So, have a nice time?" Edward asked as he climbed in to the car next to me.

"Yes," I nodded happily. "There was however, one downside."

"What?" Edward looked slightly concerned.

I put on a mock sad face. "You didn't buy me any ice-cream!"

Edward's face relaxed as a crooked grin spread across his face and he laughed.

He reached out and ruffled my hair with his hand, before starting the engine and driving off.

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**A/N:There you go!**

**I said it last chapter, but I have just started two new stories, The Return and New York New York! Please please please can you read them!**

**Anyway, what did you think on the chapter? I was having a bit of trouble writing about Jacob, but was it okay?**

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	19. Almost

**Disclaimer: If I was Stephanie Meyer, you'd know by now**

**A/N: First off, WOO! Longest chapter ever! However, I was slightly disappointed in the response I got from last chapter= not much. I'm not sure about this chapter, I like parts of it, others I don't, but I'll let you make up your own mind:

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Christmas dawned bright and early. It took me by surprise when I woke up to screeching. That could only mean one thing: _Alice_.

I groaned, Alice and Christmas could be one chaotic event. I remembered last year when she had tried to get me to go carol singing with her. My arse did I. No, like the wimp I am I ran off to Edwards house instead.

I clambered up out of bed, not bothering to change out of my pyjamas and hurried out of my room and down the stairs quickly.

I made it to the living room, and the scene was almost comical. I grumpy and weary looking Charlie was sat on the couch, whilst Alice was enthusiastically pulling a load of things out of a stocking she had obviously put together for him.

"Look, Charlie! Did you not hear me, it's a trowel, you use it in the garden. But look, it has police patterns all over it!" Alice giggled, then tossed the trowel on to a small pile of stocking presents, before ripping out a pair of oven mitts.

"Alice, to what pleasure do I owe this subjected torture?" I grumbled, walking in to the room and flopping down next to Charlie on the couch, who stood up and quickly walked out of the room, obviously seizing the chance at an escape.

"It's Christmas!" Alice screeched, the first part of Christmas coming out in a horribly high pitched note.

"Oh, so _that_ would explain why there is a decorated tree in the room! Funny, I thought Charlie just wanted to get a bit closer to nature!" I enthused sarcastically.

"No… silly Bella. _That_ is a Christmas tree!" _No kidding_. Alice had clearly missed out on my sarcasm.

"How come you're not with your family?" I asked, confused.

Alice's face fell a little. "They've gone away. Carribean I think."

"Oh." It seemed a little unfair to leave Alice alone on Christmas, but her parents had never been that considerate. "Well, you can stay at ours, I was going to go to Edwards or a bit, I think he was having people round, but I can stay here"-

"NO, no!" Alice said quickly. "We can go! So… who will be there?"

I rolled my eyes. "Probably some of his family, his parents friends I would think, people from Edwards school, Emmett and Jasper obviously and-" Alice let out a little squeak, "that's it I think."  
I had told Alice the day after the beach that Jasper liked her, and she had been ecstatic about it. However, she hadn't seen him since then.

"Okay, I don't mind going then."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?"

Alice beamed. "Now you need to go and get dressed! I'll wait here!"

Half an hour later, I was dressed in a pinafore dress, with thick white tights and black pumps. I always dressed young on Christmas.

Charlie revealed that he would be visiting some friends down at the next village, so we took Alice's Porsche instead.

"They won't mind me coming will they?" Alice asked nervously, as she sped down the forest road that lead up to the Cullen household.

"Of course not!" I laughed. Esme would be in her 'the more the merrier' mood, like she always was.

Alice smiled, looking slightly relieved.

We reached the house, and there were already lots of cars outside. _Poor Edward, _I thought. _He hates social gatherings like this._

Alice hurried out of the car, and I followed her, carrying Edwards present as I went. We knocked on the door and had to wait a minute or so, before Esme opened the door.

"Bella dear!" She smiled widely. "And…"

"Alice," Alice filled in her name in the gap Esme left for her. "I'm Bella's friend, but I've met Edward before."

"Well, it's lovely to meet you Alice," Esme smiled again. "Now come on in, it's freezing outside!"

We both stepped in and handed Esme our coats, then went in to the living area, which was crowded, as big as a room it was.

"Can you see anyone you know?" Alice whispered in to my ear.

I shook my head, no. We meandered our way through the crowd, and eventually, I saw Edward, talking politely to two adults I was sure I recognised. Edward, however, looked extremely uncomfortable, even more so than he normally did at these gatherings.

Suddenly, he glanced around and spotted me and Alice. His face lit up, and he said something to the couple before hurrying his way over.

"Bella!" He grinned looking relieved. "Happy Christmas!" He leaned forwards to hug me, and whispered in my ear as he did so, "_Help me!_"

I giggled, and grabbed his and Alice's hand, pulling them through the crowds of people, until we reached the circular staircase. "Come on!" I urged. We hurried up the stairs, trying not to get spotted by any of the adults. I felt like a little kid, when you pretended to be on a mission or something, and it was _'strictly no grown-ups'_.

We hurried up past the second level of the house, and eventually reached Edward's room on the third floor. I pushed the door open, ran, and dived on to the bed.

I heard Alice laugh. I recomposed myself (sat up) before saying, "What, it's comfy!"

Edward shook his head in mock shame at my childish behaviour. However, there was a pause, and then he too ran and jumped on the bed.

We both looked at Alice, who said, "What the hell," and joined us. We sat cross-legged, facing each other.

"Hi Alice!" Edward smiled at her.

"Hey," she grinned.

"So, you and Jasper hey?"

Alice gaped at him, then at me. I just shrugged. "Nothing's happened yet. Wait, I thought he was coming today?"

Edward nodded. "He is; he's coming with his family around lunch time I think. They're bringing Emmett with them."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Bound to be eventful then."

"Yep."

Edward got up and went over to his stereo. "Classical or rock?"

"Rock!" Me and Alice shouted together.

He gave us a wry smile before going to look at his wall of CD's

"What's Rose doing today?" The thought crossed my mind.

Alice pondered for a minute, then, "Isn't she in Alaska?"

"Oh, yeah I forgot about that."

Edward sat back down, as a song filled the room. "Someone want to run back down and get some snacks?" He looked at both of us.

"I will!" Alice exclaimed. "Where am I going?"

"Through the living area, there's a tableful of food."

"Okay, be right back!" Alice hopped up and skipped out of the room.

I looked at Edward, and his face fell.

"What's up?" I asked in concern.

Edward's eyes dropped to his lap. "Did you not recognise who I was talking to?"

I shook my head. I had seen them before, but couldn't place them.

"They were Tanya's parents."

My insides turned warm, and I was sure my face fell about a half inch.

"Bella?"

"Is… is she here?" I tried to sound casual. I was pretty sure I failed.

Edward nodded. "But don't worry. It doesn't mean _anything_. I see her at school all the time, and nothing happens there. She's only here because her family and mine are friends. My mum said it would be rude not to."

There was a silence, then: "Have you spoken to her properly, since… well… you know…"

"No, not properly. Just the _'pass me the textbook' _crap."

"Right. What is it that's bothering you?"

Edward sighed. "Her parents clearly judge me, obviously dislike me, and think I treated their daughter like a load of crap. I feel like a bad person."

I looked at Edward. His expression was one of stress and upset. I didn't really know what to say, so I beckoned for him to come and sit next to me. When he did, I hugged him. His head fell on to my shoulder.

"Edward, you are _not_ a bad person!"

"But I feel like one, and-"

"No, you are not. You mustn't feel like one either." That was all I could really say. He finished with Tanya when he and I weren't speaking, so I could hardly state a reason for why he finished with her. If I said it was because of me, that would be big headed.

"Whatever anyone says, it won't change how I feel about it."

I shook my head. "Edward, if one of your friends of relatives boyfriend, girlfriend or whatever finished with them, would you like them after that?"

Edward paused. "I-I guess not that much…"

"See! It's natural for people to take the side of their child, you would do that."

This seemed to calm him down a bit. "I guess, it just makes me feel like I _did _ treat her badly."

This really depended what people classed as being 'treated badly' because some people would put finishing with your girlfriend abruptly and for no given reason under that category.

I just sighed. No matter how much I tried to convince him, his mind was clearly set.

"I got some!" The door burst open, and in came Alice, arms full of cans of soda and varieties of food. However, her arrival was unexpected, and Edward and I both jumped up in surprise. We had still been hugging. Alice seemed to realise this.

"Oh, sorry!" She squeaked.

I gave a wry smile. "It's alright."

Whilst Edward looked away, Alice widened her eyes at me as if to say 'oh my god!' but I just shook my head. Her face ell a little but she seemed happy anyway.

We sat there for about another half hour, chatting away and munching on food. It wasn't long after that that the door flew open and Esme walked in.

"What are you doing in here, Edward?! You're supposed to be downstairs talking to guests!"

Edward had a look on his face as if he had just been caught red-handed. Esme could be stern when she wanted to be. "Umm, what about talking to guests… _upstairs?"_

Esme shook her head. "Out!"

Edward scrambled up, then followed his mother out of the room looking surly. Before he shut the door though, he managed to shoot me and Alice a look that meant we clearly had to join him.

The door shut, and I said, "We better go too."

"Yeah, I guess…" Alice trailed off. Neither of us moved.

"Five minutes?" I asked, although my voice sounded more hopeful.

"Yeah!" Alice nodded enthusiastically.

Five minutes passed… in fact ten. After that, we decided it would be rude to hide any longer.

"Come on," I sighed, getting up. Alice mimicked me, and we walked downstairs.

More people had arrived since we got here. The house was crowded. I was surprised so many people came round on Christmas Day, but the Cullen's did know _a lot_ of people.

"Look Bella, there's Jasper!" Alice cheered in my right ear.

"Go talk to him," I suggested. I looked at Alice, and she nodded, setting off in his direction. I sat on the bottom of the staircase for a moment, then spotted Emmett.

I headed towards him, and as he couldn't see me, I ran the last few feet and hugged him, much to his surprise. He spun round. "What the- Bella!"

"Hey Emmett, Happy Christmas!" I smiled.

"You too," he grinned. "Wanna go for a wonder?"

I nodded, and we weaved our way through the people. _Bad place for someone with claustrophobia _I thought to myself. However, we were about half way across the room when we bumped in to someone I was rather hoping to avoid. Tanya.

"Oh, hi Tanya!" I tried to sound bright and cheery. I failed miserably, and I could tell Tanya was trying very hard not to glare at me and Emmett. Clearly she didn't talk to Emmett much since Edward and her finished.

"Hi Bella," she said coolly. "Hi Emmett."

"Erm, Happy Christmas!" I said, trying to pass off the awkwardness.

"Same to you." She didn't sound like she was wishing us a Happy Christmas, more like the opposite.

"Yeah, well we were just… we were just going…"

"Emmett!" _Shit._ Edward had spotted us, and was walking this way. Me, Edward and Tanya together, _talk about awkward._

"Bella, you came down! I thought you were still in my room!"

_Oh no_. Tanya had better not take that the wrong way.

"Doesn't- oh, hi Tanya." _Yeah, you could have spotted her a few minutes earlier_.

"Hi." Short and blunt, lovely.

I watched as Edwards face fell, again and I knew he was feeling awful.

"Umm, as I said, we were just going to get some food. Yes!_ Food _!" I re-affirmed our plans, because I decided getting food did sound realistic.

"Bye." Tanya walked off. Yeah, when Edward had said her parents didn't like him, I was pretty sure he was no right. Tanya certainly didn't.

"Emmett, why don't you go and find Alice and Jasper?" I said, trying to get him away so I could talk to Edward again.

"Okay…" Emmett clearly hadn't realised anything was wrong. He could be so slow sometimes.

Me and Edward walked through to the dining room, which wasn't being used today. I opened the door and turned the lights on, before shutting the door once Edward was in.

I sat on the edge of the table and patted next to me for Edward to come and sit there. He did.

"Edward, if she's going to be like that, let her. What is there that we can do about it?"

Edward shrugged.

"Look, I mean think of a way that she will stop acting like that. Can you?"

Edward thought for a minute, then: "No."

"See, if there isn't anything that can be done, don't let it get to you. Just don't think about it! Come on, it _is _Christmas."

"I suppose," Edward thought.

"We need to think happy. Let's see, remember that Christmas when you nearly set my hair on fire when you tried to light the Christmas pudding?"

Edward laughed softly. "That wasn't funny, not then anyway."

"Okay, then how about when Emmett fell off his chair because he thought you were going to throw turkey at him?"

Now Edward laughed.

We continued to talk and laugh about funny things, and neither of us noticed that we were gradually shuffling closer to each other.

"What about," Edward said slowly, his face inches from mine "When I used to have to organise an order to open presents, because I got annoyed when someone opened more than I did."

I smirked, and he smiled back at me. We sat there in silence for a minute, before Edward inclined his head, slowly but surely. My breath caught, and I stayed perfectly still. His eyes met mine, and our lips were less than a centimetre away. I moved my face closer to his, if possible, and our lips brushed.

_CRASH. _The door flew open, and me and Edward both jumped away from each other in alarm. There in the doorway, stood Jasper, Alice and Emmett. They hadn't by the looks of it, seen us about to kiss. They all looked happy they had found us.

"Edward, we need your help. Where is the mop? Emmett spilt soda on the kitchen floor."

I glanced over at Edward next to me, and he looked annoyed. "Fine," he snapped. He got up off the table, and went to join them in the doorway.

"Bella, you coming?" Jasper asked.

"No. No I'm just going to wait here for a bit."

Jasper nodded, and I saw Edward turn round with an expression I couldn't read.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yes."

One bye one, they filed out o the room, shutting the door behind them.

Once they were gone, I let out a sigh.

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**A/N: That was almost six pages of A4! Reviews? Also, I keep saying but if you're reading this, please have a look at my other two stories, I have only just started them and I need opinions. **

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	20. Christmas Time

**Disclaimer: If I were Stephanie Meyer, I would have made that pretty darn clear from the start of this story :/**

**A/N: Thankyou everyone, for the response :) I had over 2500 hits! :D I was so happy! And I didn't realise this last time but this story now has over 30,000 words! WOO! Also, this is chapter 20! We are now in to the twenty figures :D**

**One thing I need your help on- I'm keen on changing the title of the story, because there are others with the same name, but I'm really stuck! Any suggestions? If so send me a message :)**

**Anyhoo...

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Time seemed to drag. I sat in the dining room for what could have been hours- I didn't know, I wasn't wearing a watch. The room grew cold eventually like it always did; the dining room had a reputation of being freezing. Yet I still didn't move.

Edward. I had nearly_ kissed_ Edward. My heart was still pounding, and for some reason I still felt tense.

He had left me in a blur. I hardly knew which way was up, or which way was down, and to be honest, right now it didn't really matter to me.

I felt amazed, happy, surprised, as well as angry, let down and anxious. The first three for obvious reasons, but angry because we had been interrupted. The moment I had being waiting for for months, and it was cut short. _Way_ too short. Short enough for nothing to happen. Nothing except our lips touching by the teeniest, tiniest fraction. That wasn't a kiss. It _could_ have been a kiss, but no.

I felt let down, because I had been so ready. I thought this was it, and just as it could have started, it stopped. Spur of the moment would now most definitely be cut back for at least another two weeks, by prediction.

And lastly, I was anxious. What if he regretted it? What if my lips were chapped? I gasped, my hand immediately rushing up to check my mouth. _No chaps present, jeez Bella, pull yourself together!_ I told myself.

Just then, the door opened. My head snapped up, but I felt almost disappointed when I saw Esme walk in. I had wanted it to be Edward.

"Hello dear, how long have you been in here?! I asked the others where you were, and they said they saw you last in the dining room around 3-ish."

I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. "What time is it now?" I asked thickly.

"It's half 5, sweetie!" Esme smiled kindly.

My eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding?"

Esme laughed softly. "I wish I was. Days like this always fly by, don't they?"

I nodded.

"You haven't been sat in here all on your own have you?!" Esme asked suddenly.

Again, a nod.

"Oh no! This is all my fault. I kept the others busy. I needed help tidying, cooking, you know, so I roped them in! I might have been a little harsh…"

I smiled or two reasons. At least they hadn't been avoiding me, but then I suppose if Edward had really wanted to, he would have made a break for it. Also, the thought of them all being roped in to jobs was just plain hilarious. Alice (who could be pretty feisty when she wanted to be), Jasper, Emmett and Edward (who were all also more than capable of sticking up for themselves) were all at Esme's complete mercy! _Ha!_

"Don't worry Esme, it's fine!" I assured her, getting up as if that would somehow convince her. Bad idea, my knees screamed at me as they ached in agony. Apparently sitting on a table for two and a half hours was no knee therapy.

"Are you sure? It mustn't have been the most joyous experience, sitting in a cold room on your own…"

"Eh, I coped," I smiled. "I'm one tough cookie!" _Too far Bella, not even true…_

Esme just shook her head at my phrase, before beckoning me out of the room.

"Table needs to be set. Where's Emmett with the cutlery?" She muttered to herself as we left. "Oh, I invited your dad up, by the way. I think you're all eating here tonight. Alice too, I mean."

My face lit up. "Really?"

Esme nodded. "Now come on, you're not getting away with doing nothing either madam, go and help Carlisle choose a table cloth! I'll help you find him!" I obeyed, only silently questioning why it took two people to pick a table cloth. _There can't be _that_ much of a choice _I thought.

Esme led my towards the staircase, pulling me by my hand. However, there at the bottom of the staircase, sat Edward. He glanced up as he heard footsteps approaching, his eyes widening as he saw me. His expression was mixed, still unreadable. Curious as I was, I fought the urge not to laugh as his eyes grew even wider in horror as he noticed his mother.

"Edward, _what_ are you doing? _Candles_?!" she said _candles_ as if it was the answer to an obvious question. I snickered.

Edward hurried out of his place and ran off. I sighed. _What was he thinking? _ I needed to know.

"Carlisle, I have back up!" Esme exclaimed, before pushing me through the doorway and shutting the door quickly. I heard fast footsteps die away.

"Sorry, she seems a little flustered," Carlisle said, although he seemed slightly amused.

I rolled my eyes, "A _little_?"

Carlisle chuckled.

I sank down on to my knees next to him, where he was already sat on the floor next to an open draw full of table cloths. Evidently, my assumption that there must have been a lot of table cloths was right.

We set to work.

About an hour later, I was sat in the living room on the window sill, staring outside, where there was a crisp, icy landscape.

"Bella?"

My head spun around at the sound of his voice. It sounded soft, and nervous?

I smiled weakly. "Yes, Edward?"

Edward hesitated. "We… we need to talk."

I nodded. "You got that right."

Edward sighed. "Can… can we just…"

I spun my hand around or him to continue.

"Now's not the best time for that to start. I don't know, I just think… Are you sick of waiting for me?" He asked abruptly.

I shook my head, perplexed. "What?!"

"You're getting tired of waiting, I know it. With Jacob and everything, I don't know."

"Edward, you have this _all _wrong. I'm not going to give up on you for Jacob!"

"You- you're not?"

"NO!" I almost shouted. Then another thought crossed my mind. "That was why you nearly kissed me… because you didn't want to lose me… Am I right?"

I watched as Edward dropped his eyes nervously. I was.

"Edward, for god's sake! I am _not_ going to get together with Jacob; he hasn't even texted me yet! You don't have to get in to something your not ready for yet!"

"I-I…"

"Honestly, paranoid much?" I asked, getting to hug him. Poor thing, he was stood there looking completely confused (and adorable).

"I'm sorry," he whispered in to my shoulder. "I must seem like such a jerk."

I giggled in to his shoulder. "You've done worse."

Edward sighed, and we broke apart. "Are we okay?"

I smiled, "We're okay."

About another hour later, everyone was sat round the table, which was crowded with Christmas dinner. Turkey, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, sprouts, chipolatas, yorkshire puddings, cranberry sauce, nut roast, bread sauce, peas, carrots, you name it, we had it.

My plate was half empty, and I couldn't for the life of me eat one more mouthful.

"Take it," I groaned to Emmett, who was eyeing my plate hopefully from across the table.

He dived across the table, seizing my plate, and snatching it towards him. No one else would have been able to have it even if they had wanted it.

"Thanks Bella," he managed to get out, as he was already shovelling food in to his mouth.

"Seriously, I Rose was here she'd be so put off I think she'd finish you," Edward said, looking slightly disgusted at how messily Emmett was eating.

"Emmett, dear. The food isn't going anywhere you know. You don't have to hurry it down!" Esme said calmly, putting her hand on his arm to try and calm him down. Her words fell on death ears. "Worth a try," she grimaced, throwing her arms in the air slightly as she turned away. She continued on her way out of the room to fetch more water.

After several crackers, Christmas pudding- which I passed on-, the adults retiring to the drawing room (there were a lot of rooms in this house) and harmless banter, Alice stood up.

"I need to go for a walk- fresh air, you know?"

"Great, me too!" I said, making to stand up.

I was half way out of my seat when Alice started shaking her hands wildly. "No, no! I mean on my own. Little time alone."

I sat back down, puzzled. "Okay…"

Alice left, and almost immediately, Jasper stood up, announcing he needed to use the bathroom.

Once the door shut, Emmett burst out, "Oh man, those two are so doing it!"

My mouth fell open. "_Emmett!"_

"Okay, maybe not doing it, but a little romantic stroll outside. Maybe a kiss or two…"

My mouth fell open. He was right!

"_Oh_ my god you're right!" I blurted out quickly.

"Makes a change," Edward muttered to himself.

"Hey!" Emmett realised what he meant.

Edward looked up, realising he had spoken out loud. "Sorry dude," he smiled apologetically.

"Someone check the bathrooms! Bet you they're all empty!"

"I'll go!" Edward hurried out the room.

I looked at Emmett. "I don't believe it!"

Emmett wasn't listening. "_Alright!_ Jasper got himself a lady friend!"

"Emmett?"

Emmett smirked. "Yes, Bella?"

"Shut up."

"You can't deny it!"

"I didn't say I was!" I laughed.

"Oh really?"

"Emmett, seriously. Do you not remember a minute ago, I said 'oh my god, _you're right!'_

"Oh, I guess you did…"

The door swung open. "All empty," Edward grinned, slightly out of breath.

"Did you just _run_, all the way round the house?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I did," Edward smirked triumphantly. He checked all six bathrooms in just over a minute. Why they had six bathrooms I had no idea, but his timing was impressive.

We waited for about twenty minutes. Finally, Alice came in through the door.

"Woah, it's cold out there!" But if anything, she looked rather flushed.

"You look frozen, Alice." I mocked, grinning at Emmet and Edward. Alice didn't pick up on it. Instead, she went along with it.

"Do I? I'll sit by the fire, I feel like my fingers are about to drop off!"

The fire had been lit, seeing as the room needed to be warm if people were to be eating in there.

Alice sank down in to the chair by the fire, with the hint of a smile on her face.

Then, Jasper burst through the door. He looked extremely flushed too, but cheerful all the same.

"Geez, Jasper! What were you doing in the bathroom?"

My mind picked up the word 'doing', and immediately replaced the word 'what' with 'who'.

"Sorry, I felt a bit sick… too much to eat."

Me, Edward and Emmett looked at each other, grinning. I glanced up what appeared to be too quickly, because I saw Jasper wink at Alice.

"Umm, Alice, we need to get going. _Now._"

"Oh, okay," she hopped up, and me and her walked off to find Charlie. I only wanted to leave so that I could interrogate her on Jasper.

I stopped her in the hall, however.

"Nice walk?"

She looked confused. "Yeah…"

I rolled my eyes; obviously she was being a bit slow. "Anything… _special_ happen whilst you were out?"

"No, why?"

"Didn't bump in to anyone outside?"

"Bella, what are you on about?"

I gaped. She wasn't going to tell me! It was down right obvious her and Jasper had just got in from kissing, and they seemed to be all for keeping it a secret!

I hadn't spoken for a while, so Alice spoke up. "Bella, are we going to get Charlie?"

I shook my head. "You know what? We don't actually have to go just yet."

Alice looked confused. "I thought you just said-"

"Nah, I just realised we didn't have to!"

"Oh… cool!"

I beamed at her, then turned around, my expression changing in to one that was both confused and annoyed. But wait a minute… if she wanted to keep this a secret, me, Edward, Emmett and Rosalie could have a whole lot of fun with this!

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**A/N: How many of you are annoyed that there was a reason behind the _kiss that almost was_? But I don't want them together just yet. However, don't worry, it won't be too long :)**

**I would also appreciate it if you had a quick peek at my other two stories. _New York, New York _might not be staying,it depends if i feel like carrying on with it or not :/**

**Anyway, how was the chapter? And ooh, one more review to a hundred- come on someone, make my day :D  
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	21. This doesn't even get a name its so crap

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!  
A/N: I am so sorry! This has to be the worst chapter there ever ever ever was! It is a filler where nothing happens, plus it's incredibly short- cue for you all to boo and shout at me!**

**I promise you a better chapter after this, so please don't run away from the story after seeing how awful this is! I am suffering from writers block!**

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As we got back in to the dining room, everyone looked up confused.

"I thought you were going?" Emmett asked.

"So did I," Alice muttered behind me.

I shot a look at Jasper, who was sat facing the door. He was staring at Alice… _big surprise_.

Emmett was at the head of the table next to Jasper, Edward opposite Jasper and next to Emmett.

I sat next to Edward, nudging him in the arm.

He turned to look at me, confused.

"I need to talk to you, quick!"

He carried on looking confused, but stood up all the same. I followed him out o the room.

"I thought you were going?" Edward turned to me once we were in the hall.

I shook my head. "I just had to ask Alice about Jasper, but listen, they're keeping it a secret!"

Edward nodded with an heir of eagerness. "I know! Jasper wouldn't say a thing!"

I gestured my hands at me, waving them around. "Alice wouldn't tell me either!"

Edward started pacing. "Why won't they tell us?!"

"Ask them, not me," I shrugged. "What did Jasper say?"

Edward stopped pacing. "Well, we asked why did he _really_ take so long, so he said 'I told you, I felt sick'. We told him we checked the bathrooms and no one was there, and then he goes 'oh yeah, I went to get a glass of water' when there is a huge jug of it in the dining room and his cup!"

"That could have been what happened," I spoke my thoughts aloud. "But we can check easy enough. The adults are all in the kitchen, plus you can see the front door from there!"

Edward looked up and grinned at me. "Good idea."

We hurried in to the kitchen, where Carlisle, Esme and Charlie were sat, a bottle of wine in the middle of the kitchen table.

"Hey, we just wanted to ask… did anyone just go outside?" Edward asked quickly.

"Yeah," Carlisle nodded. "Alice did, then Jasper."

Me and Edward looked at each other and smirked.

"So Jasper didn't come and get a glass of water?" I asked.

"Nope," Carlisle spoke again.

We thanked them and then hurried out of the room.

"Oh my god, they are such liars!" I exclaimed as we made our way back to the dining room.

Edward laughed. "Plus, we already know that they both like each other!"

We made it back to the dining room, cutting our conversation short before entering.

Inside, Alice and Jasper were talking intently, whilst Emmett was slumped forward on the table, looking utterly bored. He rolled his eyes at us.

We sat down and he complained, "They shut me out with intelligent conversation!"

I turned to look at Alice and Jasper. Blocked him out or not, their posture wouldn't let him in to the conversation either. _This is ridiculous_ I thought.

We chatted for the rest of the evening, before eventually it was time to go home. Technically it was Boxing Day now anyway.

We said our goodbyes, before getting in to the car and driving off. Alice was staying at mine, seeing as she was alone.

"Have a nice time, Alice?" I asked, my voice implying thickly that I was digging deeper than simply 'how was the meal?'

Charlie was in his own car because he came separately.

"Yeah, a really good time! You?"

"Mhmm, it was great. And for fucks sake _slow down_ unless you want to bloody kill us!"

"Calm down Bella, I drive just fine," Alice smiled serenely. "So, anything interesting happen?"

I was still pondering on whether to tell Alice about how I had nearly kissed Edward, seeing as she wouldn't say about Jasper. _Don't be stubborn_ I told myself.

I sighed, before deciding I had to tell her. This was Alice! "Well… me and Edward nearly kissed. Our lips touched and everything, only slightly but still."

Alice gasped, spinning her head round so fast it reminded me of the creepy head spin from The Exorcist.

"Eyes on the road Alice, _eyes on the road! _" I yelled.

"You nearly kissed?! Why the hell didn't you?!"

I groaned. "Because, three certain people barged in to the room at that precise second!"

Alice (who did now have her eyes back on the road -thank god) gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realise-"

"Don't worry about it," I cut in. "It wasn't what I thought it was anyway.

"Why not?" Alice asked, her voice sympathetic.

I hesitated. "I can't really explain." And I couldn't, not without making it sound stupid anyway.

"It will happen, Bella. I promise you. You should see the way he looks at you! Besides, you know he's waiting because of what happened with Tanya."

I grimaced. "Yeah, I know. Just it's taking a hell of a long time is all. I feel like I'm just sitting around waiting. Hell, I am sitting around and waiting!"

Alice reached out and patted me on the shoulder.

I immediately grabbed her hand and placed it back on the steering wheel.

"Wuss," she giggled, as we pulled up in front of my house.

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**SORRY AGAIN!**

**You don't even have to review it's that bad, even though they're nice.**

**Better chapter next I PROMISE! It may even be tomorrow morning if i feel that bad!**

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	22. Jealous Minds Think Alike

**Disclaimer: I know that none of you even _think_ I own Twilight, so tbh this is practically pointless!**

**A/N: SORRY again for the truly appalling chapter before this! I'm hoping that this is somewhat better, but that's really for you to decide, not me :) I can never tell if I'm writing something okay or worthless crap! Haha. Anyway, I don't think this story will last _too_ much longer, so you all know what that means ;) Edward and Bella will be getting together soon, because hopefully you will notice in this chapter that things are changing! Anyway, on with the reading:

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The days passed by over the holidays, most of which were spent in close proximity to either Alice or Edward. Alice, because her parents weren't back until after New Year- poor thing- and Edward because, well, I was always over at his in my free time.

That's where I was right now, in Edward's kitchen helping him make fairy cakes.

"I can't make fairy cakes!" Edward had complained when I suggested it. "They're for girls!"

I scowled at Edward. "Hey, I'll have you know that everyone likes fairy cakes: girls _and _boys."

Eventually I had brought him round to my way of thinking, and _hey presto,_ fairy cakes it was!

Edward had been told by Esme to make something for the New Years party she was throwing, but Edward being Edward, he wasn't all that much of a cooking person. Sure, he would help Esme out, but when it came to cooking, he had to call me in. Why? Because he _hated_ it.

So here we were, in Esme's surgically clean kitchen- that soon would not be so clean- reading through the recipe instructions. Okay, _I _was reading through the instructions. Edward was sat on the island counter sulking.

"Geez Edward, it isn't that bad!" I said in a voice to suggest he was pathetic. I heard Edward huff from behind me and smirked to myself.

The recipe read:

_Beat eggs and sugar together in bowl._

I rolled my eyes. Did they expect me to beat them together in the sink?

I found my way over to the Pyrex bowls that the Cullen's used for cooking, and chose the largest one. I practically knew where everything was kept in this kitchen.

"Right, add the flour," I muttered to myself once the eggs and sugar were beaten together. I was glad I had used the big bowl, because we (well _I_ ) were making double quantities, which would hopefully give us 50 fairy cakes.

I turned around to look for where I had put the flour, and fought the urge not to laugh. Edward was lay back on the island counter, iPod clutched in his hand, his eyes shut. Clearly, he intended on doing _no _cooking whatsoever. _We'll see about that_, I thought.

I walked over, and reached for his iPod. It was on hold, so I flicked it off that, before turning the volume up to full.

"What the- _ouch!" _

My hand flew over my mouth to try and hold in my laughter. Edward had sat bolt upright, and carried sitting up straight on until he whacked his head in to the cupboards above.

"S-sorry," I gasped, before I burst out laughing.

Edward was rubbing his forehead, looking around as if he had just landed on a new planet. It didn't take long for him to hear me laughing though, and once he turned to me, he shook his head quickly, blinking rapidly. "BELLA!" He wailed, glaring at me.

All I could do was grin at him as I carried on laughing.

"Right, that's it!" Edward reached for the flour bag, which had been right next to him. He then jumped off the counter- his head ducking to avoid the cupboards- and then walked towards me very slowly.

I started to back away in to the corner of the room, still laughing.

"That was a very horrible thing of you to do there, Bella," Edward said quietly.

This bought on a fresh round of giggles. My hand flew up to my mouth again to try and muffle the sound.

Edward continued to advance on me. "It's payback," he grinned wickedly.

He now had me backed up right in to the corner of the room, as I continued to back away. I stopped when my back hit counter.

Edward, however, continued to walk towards me until there was barely a centimetre separating us.

My breathing became loud, my heart starting to beat at a ridiculous rate. He was practically pressed up against me now, and if anything, he was getting closer.

He gave me a smirk, and my breathing was now embarrassingly loud. I don't think he had a clue what he was doing to me!

I was so caught up in the moment, I didn't notice his hand moving from behind his back, as the bag of flour came up above my head.

_Whoosh_. I practically jumped, knocking Edward as flour hit my head and shoulders.

"Edward!" I screeched loudly.

It was his turn to laugh now as he backed away from me, the musical sound filling the kitchen.

I took my opportunity to run at him, seizing the flour from his hand and tipping the remainder of the bags contents over his head.

We were now both covered in flour, as I attempted to shake the stuff out of my hair.

I started to laugh again, my vision obscured from all the flour that was falling in front of my eyes off my hair and eyelashes. I walked in to the counter, causing me to collapse sideways in to Edward.

We both fell to the ground in a frenzy, as, to my horror, I landed on top of him, face to face. _Well, this most certainly isn't an awkward position is it?_

I made to move, but Edward grabbed hold of both of my arms. I looked at him, and he was examining my face with the utmost concentration. Our faces, yet again, were inches apart.

I focused on his eyes. The deep green of them, and somehow, they almost seemed to be blazing with some sort of emotion.

It almost goes without saying that my breathing had picked up again. I wouldn't be surprised if Edward could feel my heart beating against his chest.

I was almost positive he was about to say something, his mouth had started to move.

He didn't get his chance though.

"Edward, Bella?" Esme's voice came drifting through the room.

Edward and I both sat up immediately, as I moved off him. We had fallen behind the island in the centre of the room, so undoubtedly Esme could not see us yet.

Edward carried on staring at me as he spoke in a somewhat shaky voice. "Yeah, mom?"

Esme didn't answer, but then she appeared leaning over the island counter to see us sat on the floor.

"What are you doing down there you two, and _what _is all this mess?!"

I shared a shifty look with Edward before coming up with an excuse.

"Yeah, sorry Esme. I just opened the cupboard to get the flour, but it fell out and went everywhere!"

"Oh," Esme seemed to find this a decent excuse. "Well, as long as you two clean up after yourselves…"

"We will," Edward spoke quickly, although he was still looking at me as if he had just noticed something he never knew.

"Okay, well I just came to tell you I'm off out. I'm not supposed to be working over the holidays but something came up. Me and your dad won't be back 'til about 7:00, okay?"

"Right," Edward nodded. Esme and Carlisle were both doctors at the hospital- which is where they had met in the first place.

"See you two later!" Esme called as she walked out of the room.

We both called our goodbyes, before we heard the door shut. An awkward silence followed.

"Umm, I should go and get changed," Edward said slowly.

I nodded. "I'll finish this off quickly. You have more flour, right?"

Edward nodded as he got himself up off the ground. "Top right cupboard above the oven."

"Thanks."

I stood up as I heard him leave the room.

It only took me about 10 more minutes to finish the mixture, and once I had put everything in the oven, I was done for about 20 minutes.

_What was that? _My mind raced desperately for the answer. I had tried to get up, and he had stopped me! Now anyone could tell me that friends don't lie in that position together! But I didn't know what we were. Sure we were friends, but with this whole: _I'm waiting for the right time, but I do like you _scenario going on, I didn't have a clue what kind of relationship that gave us!

_Beep, beep._

The sound of a text from my phone jolted me out of my reverie.

I glanced over at the screen, and saw the name of the sender. _Jacob._

I stared. We hadn't had any contact since the day at the beach. To be totally honest, I had completely forgotten about him. Clearly he hadn't forgotten about me.

I walked over and picked up my phone. It was that old that the screen was cracked, and it didn't even have a colour screen or camera.

I clicked to read the text:

_Hi Bella,_

_Just wondered if you wanted to meet up for a coffee or something and have a catch-up!_

_Sorry it took so long to text you, been a bit busy :/_

_Tb, Jacob x_

Oh no, he was putting kisses on the end already! I would have to reply, as much as I didn't feel like it. I didn't much feel like meeting up with my boyfriend from when I was about 10. The whole situation was just weird.

My reply was as short as I could get:

_Umm, yeah okay. _

_Don't worry about it, I have been too!_

_Bella._

_HA! No kisses for you! _I thought to myself, however cruel it sounded. **(A/N: Sorry for people who like Jacob! I don't either :/)**

I went back on to the message, and re-read it. I didn't realise Edward enter the room.

"Bella?" I spun round, dropping the phone, which flew across the room and hit the wall next to Edward. Most people would have been worried about the phone. It was about 5 years old- I wasn't. Edward had changed in to some jeans and a grey jumper. The sleeves were pushed up so you could see some of his toned arms. His hair was still dripping wet from the shower he had obviously taken.

Edward picked up the phone, and was about to hand it back to me, but not before he noticed who had sent the message.

"You're texting Jacob?" He asked, his eyebrow raising quizzically.

I hesitated. "Well… he just text me, so I had to reply."

"Oh." Was it just me, or was Edward's tone a little disappointed?

We stood in silence for a minute, before Edward spoke again. "You should go and get changed too. Borrow one of my t-shirts if you like."

I nodded, agreeing with him, before walking out the room and upstairs.

I showered in Edward's bathroom, seeing as it was right next to his room, obviously.

After washing my hair, I got dressed back in to my jeans, but switching my top for one of Edward's.

I smiled to myself as I slid on a plain white t-shirt that was too big for me, yet incredibly soft and comfy. Eyeing myself in the mirror, there was no denying that it looked much better on him, but I didn't have abs, and didn't really want much muscle.

I left his room and went back to the kitchen. To my surprise, Edward had taken the fairy cakes out already. However, they needed to cool down before they could be decorated.

"Edward?" I called out.

"I'm in the living room," he called back, but he sounded incredibly dull.

"What's up buddy?" I asked as I walked in to the living room. Edward was slumped on the sofa, his feet on the coffee table, a book in his lap. He was simply staring at the book, and it was clear that he wasn't reading it.

"Nothing," he shrugged.

I looked at him. _Did he think I was stupid?_ His eyes looked miserable, and it wasn't anything like a happy Edward to be sat on the couch hardly speaking.

"Right…" I said in a tone full of irony.

He looked up suddenly, a smile on his face. "I'm fine seriously!" He said in an over cheery voice. I also noticed that the smile never reached his eyes. "Are the cakes ready to decorate?" Yet again, Edward would never be so enthusiastic to decorate fairy cakes.

"No," I replied bluntly. _What was wrong with him?_ But the answer was written all over his face. He was jealous; jealous after I assured him that nothing would ever happen between me and Jacob. _Geez, there's no wining with him_, I thought wryly, before smiling at him and sitting down next to him.

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**A/N: How was it? Good? Bad? Tell me what you thought :)**

**Jacob is trying to make an enterance, but will it actually happen? Sorry if you hate him and don't want him in this, but I hate him too, so he WON'T be getting with Bella, that's for sure.**

**My other story 'Starting Over' is definitely staying, but I deleted the other one :) If you have the time, please have a look at my other story :) Thanks!  
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	23. I Gotta Feelin'

**Disclaimer: Twilight... Not mine...**

**A/N: Wow, I haven't touched this story for a while :/ Sorry! I had writers block with it and then didn't know what to do! Thans to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, there were 18 of you if I'm right! :D You're amazing!**

**Anyway...**

It was New Years Eve, and since that day at Edward's, things had been, well... odd, between us. I couldn't pat him on the arm anymore without it seeming like some sort of sexual proposition, and whenever I did, it was followed by an awkward silence.

Anyway, this morning I was meeting up with Jacob – damn it- and Alice was throwing a New Year's party, seeing as her parents were away. I had stressed to Jacob that I could only stay for an hour because I had to go and help Alice set up – which I did- which meant that I would only have to spend minimal time with him – SCORE!

Neither Alice or Jasper had confessed that anything was going on between them, and Emmett had been glum the past few days because Rosalie had been in Alaska. Since they had officially started dating, they had been attached at the hip!

I pulled up at the cafe I was meeting Jacob at, and got out of the car. I walked in to the cage and saw he was already there, sat down at one of the good tables with sofas.

I waved at him and went over.

"Hey, sorry I'm a bit late," I sighed, sitting down opposite him.

"No problem," he grinned at me.

We ordered drinks, and once they arrived, started talking.

"So... how have you been?" He asked. _Diving in to the deep end straight away are we? _I thought wryly.

"Not too bad, really. There hasn't been too much going on" lie "so how about you?"

"Yeah, same really. I don't know whether you heard or not, but my mom passed away a few years ago..."

I gasped, my hand flying up to my mouth. "Oh shit, Jacob, that's awful! I'm so sorry!"

He made a face. "Yeah, but it was pretty shit. I feel a bit better about it now though."

I nodded.

"Anyway, moving on... I didn't just invite you out to depress you!" He laughed, although I saw no humour in this, neither, I think, did he.

"So, you doing anything tonight for New Years?" I asked.

Jacob made a thinking face. "Well, I was going to go down to the beach with a group of friends, you should come!" He exclaimed happily.

"I can't, sorry! My friends throwing a New Year's party, she has a free house..."

"Oh..." Jacob looked disappointed.

I don't know what made me do it, and I mentally hit myself after saying it, but it just slipped out. "You should come, she won't mind! I think she wants more people to make it a better party anyway..."

Oh god, why did I do that? _Please say no, please say no, please say no..._

"Erm, yeah, sure! I don't think my friends will mind, in fact, do you think I could bring one or two of them along, you know, just so I know a few people?"

I mentally rolled my eyes. _Fucks sake_.

"Sure, like I said, more people the better!" I said with a fake cheer.

He laughed. "Great, what time?"

"About 9 or 10, I think."

He grinned. "I'll be there."

From then on, we had a proper catch up, talked about our high schools, talked about memories from elementary.

When it reached one 'o' clock, I announced I should be going. "Sorry, it's just I promised I would help Alice set up for tonight."

"It's fine; I'll see you later anyway?"

"Yeah, I'll see you there!" I smiled.

Jacob stood up and hugged me (a little awkwardly) and we both walked out to our cars. I waved at him before I drove off. Well... thank god that was over. It wasn't that he was a horrible person, a little annoying maybe, but not horrible. It was how awkward it was, and I couldn't stop thinking about Edward.

I drove up to Alice's, and once I got there, I noted that Jaspers Mustang was there too... interesting.

I climbed out of my truck, locking it before I walked up to the house, letting myself in. I could hear voices talking in the kitchen, which stopped as soon as the front door slammed shut.

"Hello?" Alice's voice called out cautiously.

"It's me!" I called back as I made my way to her kitchen. I walked in to Alice's gleaming kitchen, and found her sat on the counter, Jasper stood opposite, leaning against the island counter in the middle of the kitchen, which was huge.

"Oh, hey Bella! Jasper was just dropping off some stuff for tonight; I can't get served at the liqueur store, but Jasper can."

I nodded, and Jasper smiled at me. There were to large bags full of bottles next to him.

"So, what can I do?" I asked, my eyes darting between the two of them.

"Umm, can you make a party playlist on my iTunes? I'm just going to use my laptop and connect it up to the speakers."

I nodded.

"And Jasper, do you mind helping me put up the fairy lights round the hall and living room? I wanted a few outside as well by the trees."

"Sure," Jasper winked at her and I resisted the urge to sigh.

"Where's your laptop Alice?"

"The living room, I think."

"Okay, I'll go and do that now then?"

"Yeah, thanks Bella!"

I stayed at Alice's all day. I was getting ready at hers anyway because, true Alice style, she was deciding what I was wearing.

By 6, I was showered, and Alice had just finished curling my hair for me. I was wearing a plain black bodycon dress that had no sleeves. I was wearing gold jewellery with it, and had a pair of blue peep toe heels that had a zip up the front. **(Can't describe them to make then sound nice but they are, they're just not in Topshop anymore :|)**

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to staggering around in a tight dress and tall heels, but Alice will be Alice.

My make up was nice, I had coral lips and eyes that weren't too extravagant, seeing as my lips were instead.

Once we were both dressed, Alice wearing a sleeveless dress too with gold embellishment **(picture on profile) **we set about making a punch. Unfortunately, Alice ended up pouring a bit too much vodka in it.

"Oh man, if my house gets trashed!" She whined, as she took a sip of the punch. We left it in a bowl, a spoon in it and a load of cups next to it so that people could help themselves.

I had told Alice earlier on about me inviting Jacob, seeing as she had wanted to know how it went, and she didn't mind, but she had bought up a valid point- Edward.

At the moment, I was just planning on the party being busy enough for them to not notice each other.

At 8, the first few people started to arrive. I spotted Jessica Stanely arrive, and hoped against hope she wouldn't try anything with Edward this time.

"Hey, Bella!" I turned round to see Edward and a group of guys entering the room- most likely they were his friends from Washington State.

"Hey!" I shouted over the music that was now booming, seeing as enough people were here.

He came over and gave me a hug that was cut short as we pulled away from each other awkwardly.

"Have you had something to drink yet?" I asked Edward.

"No," he shook his head.

"Right, well don't try the punch unless you want to be drunk by 9, okay?" I laughed, although I had hypocritically already had two cups of it.

"Okay," he laughed.

We pushed our way through the crowd, reaching the kitchen, where a group of people were doing shots in the corner.

"You having some?" Edward asked, gesturing to the group of people.

"Sure, are you?"

He nodded. "Might as well."

After I had a few shots, I eased up a bit, became more relaxed. Ugh, I was tipsy already.

We went back in to the living room, where most people were dancing. I spotted Rosalie in the middle of the mass of people, and pushed my way past people to reach her before enveloping her in a huge hug.

"ROSE!" I shouted loudly, kissing her on the cheek in my tipsy state. I hadn't seen her in about a week.

"BELLA!" She shouted back happily. "Come on! Dance with me and Emmett!"

I peered round her and saw Emmett- how I hadn't spotted him before now, I didn't know.

"EM!" He received the same greeting, although he was a little more surprised at the kiss on the cheek- clearly he hadn't had as much to drink as Rose.

_I Gotta Feelin' _by _The Black Eyed Peas_ came on, and everyone cheered.

Rosalie grabbed my hand and put it up in the air as everyone started to jump up and down, singing loudly. I turned round to find Edward, but he wasn't there. I shrugged it off, he had probably gone to get more to drink or find some of his friends.

The night progressed on, and it got better and better. Probably the whole of our school year were at the party, and about half of Washington State's too. The house was jam packed, and it was lucky Alice's house was so secluded, or the neighbours would probably be complaining by now.

At about half 9, someone had brought a strobe light with them, and it was positioned high up in the living room and all the lights apart from the fairy lights were turned off.

I was drunk by now, along with everyone else by the looks of it. I was dancing with Jasper and Rosalie now, and I turned round, becoming face to face with Jacob in the crush of bodies. I had completely forgotten he was even coming.

"J-Jacob!" I cheered, throwing my hands up in the air. Earlier on, I wouldn't have been pleased to see him, but now I was too drunk to care.

"Hey!" He slurred, grabbing on to my hand and pulling me in to a dance with him. "I've been looking for you!"

I laughed. "Why's that?"

He shrugged. We danced, chatting a little. Then someone brought a bottle of drink in to the middle of the crowd, and I grabbed it, taking several large gulps of it before passing it back.

"Hey, that doesn't taste like vodka!" I complained to the guy who was carrying it.

He smirked at me. "That's because it's absinthe!" He shouted over the music.

"Oh," I blinked, before stumbling sideways in to Jacob. I remembered someone telling me that it was 78% alcohol or something like that, realising maybe I shouldn't have had so much of it.

However, Jacob took a large swig too, passing it back to the guy afterwards.

I looked up at him, and he smirked at me.

"What?" I laughed.

And then, without warning, he lowered his head and crushed his lips down on to mine.

I immediately tried to pull back. _Edward! You need to stop now, Edward!_

And I did try to stop, but Jacob didn't seem to understand I didn't want this.

We were crushed together by the crowd of people around us, too busy dancing to care.

Then suddenly, Jacob's lips were off mine as he staggered sideways, a fist coming in to contact with his face. I turned to see Edward, who looked mutinous, glaring at Jacob.

I immediately forgot that Jacob had been kissing me. "EDWARD!" I beamed. "WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?!"

He ignored me as his fist flew forwards again, connecting with Jacob's jaw.

Some people in the vicinity turned to see what was happening now, seeing as Jacob and Edward were crammed next to each other as it was so crowded.

Jacob recovered quickly, his fist lashing out, hitting Edward back, who staggered slightly. He was clearly out of it.

"No! Stop it!" I whined, upset. I sounded like a 3 year old wanting candy.

Suddenly, Emmett appeared, grabbing Edward just before he lunged for Jacob. Emmett grabbed Edwards arms and started to pull him away, Edward struggling.

"YOU FUCKING DICK! YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" Edward started to yell at Jacob. "DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!"

I followed after Edward as people started to turn to Jacob, asking if he was okay.

"Edward, wait!" I slurred, following after him, pushing my way past people until I reached the kitchen, where Emmett sat Edward down on the counter.

Someone was lay down across the island counter whilst someone took body shots off them. Resisting the urge to join in, I stumbled over to Emmett and Edward.

Edward had his head in his hands, and Emmett was getting a glass of water from the sink.

"Cheer up Edward!" I laughed at him. I probably should have been a bit more cautious, but I didn't even understand the meaning of the word right now.

He looked up at me, his expression livid, although it softened some what when he took in me.

"What the fuck were you doing Bella? Kissing _him_?"

I shook my head. "Huh?"

Edward patted next to him on the counter as he took the glass of water off Emmett, who then walked back out of the room.

"Why did you kiss him?!" Edward asked a little louder than necessary, even above the booming music.

"I didn't! He kissed me, he wouldn't stop!" I complained, annoyed at getting the blame.

Edward didn't say anything.

Suddenly, people started chanting.

"_Ten, nine, eight..."_

I looked at the clock in the kitchen to see it was nearly 12, nearly New Year.

"_Seven, six, five, four..."_

"Hey, Edward!" I laughed, grabbing his shoulder.

"What?" He huffed.

"_Three, two, one..."_

"Happy New Year!" I slurred, and without thinking, I leaned up, crushing my lips to his.

* * *

**A/N: How was it? Sorry for people who like Jacob! Sorry for people who don't too!**

**Also, I would really appreciate it if you had a look at my other story, Starting Over, and my new one The Holiday, which only went up the other day!**

**Reviews would make my day! :)**

* * *


	24. Fluorescent Adolescent

**Disclaimer: Twilight = Stephenie Meyer's... yeah, as if you all didn't already know that**

**A/N: Thankyou to all the lovely people who reviewed :) ♥ for you! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, busy times :|**

**And may I just ask, what did everyone think of New Moon? I LOVED IT! **

My kiss was eagerly returned, Edwards arm wrapping around my waist as I put my arm round the back of his neck, my hands in his hair. I could hear cheers, cat calls, wolf whistles, but I didn't care. I felt Edward's tongue trace my lip, and granted him access. Our tongues fought for dominance as I shuffled closer to Edward.

Eventually, when I could no longer breathe, I pulled away. Eyeing Edward, saw a slight smirk playing around his lips, which now had a hint of coral colour on them. Grinning, I reached up my thumb and wiped the lipstick off his lips, whilst looking in to his eyes.

The anger was still there, but there was happiness too and ... lust?

"Bella," he breathed, leaning towards me and pressing another kiss to my lips.

I smiled against his lips, resting my head against his.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"For lashing out back there... and keeping you waiting..."

"You're forgiven," I said, placing a peck on his lips.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

It was then that we were rudely interrupted: "ED_WARDD_!"

I recognised it as Josh, the guy I had seen at the supermarket so long ago when I saw Emmett.

Edward breathed a deep, frustrated breath. "_What, _Josh?"

Seeming oblivious to Edward's mood under the influence of alcohol, Josh continued. "You coming to the store? Jas, Alex and I are going to get more alcohol, girl's nearly out..."

"Josh, no, can't you see I'm busy?"

It was understandable Edward was getting frustrated, but I cut in anyway. "Edward, I could do with some fresh air, Josh, is it? Do you mind if I come too?" I asked.

Josh looked slightly perplexed, but grinned anyway. "Sure!"

He walked out of the room, heading to the front door, and I grabbed Edward's hand. "Come on, you're buying me wine!" Pulling him along with me, I weaved through the crowds towards the front door. I saw Jasper collecting money off people who were placing orders for drinks.

We made it outside to where Josh and Alex, who I also recognised, were stood waiting. Alex had one of the last Budweiser's clutched in his hand, whilst he held a cigarette in his other . I wrinkled my nose at the smoke as we approached. I hadn't ever tried smoking, and was not all that willing to do so. I knew Edward was a party smoker, but was still a bit annoyed when he took the cigarette from Alex, taking a drag, whilst answering a question Josh had asked him.

"Edward," I frowned.

"Hm?" He asked, turning to me and taking both my hands in his, smiling and leaning down to try and kiss me.

I leaned back, "I'm not kissing you now," I giggled.

Edward's face fell. "What, why?"

I wrinkled my nose again. "You stink of smoke."

"Oh," he frowned. "Please?" He asked.

"Nope," I teased.

He leant down and pressed a kiss to each cheek, then my jaw. "I'm sorry," he smiled.

"Uh uh," I smiled, though it was taking all my will power to not lean in and kiss him.

Edward frowned again, before leaning in and kissing me on the lips anyway. I didn't bother teasing him any longer, and returned the kiss.

"Oi!" A familiar voice called out. Retreating, I looked up to see Jasper there with Alex and Josh. "Would one of you like to tell me what's going on?!"

When I turned to look at Edward, for us to only both smirk at each other, Jasper spoke again. "Are you together now?"

I looked at Edward again, a questioning glance this time. "Yes," he replied, looking at me, a soft smile on his face. My face spread in to a wide grin as my heart leapt.

"About time," I heard Jasper mumble, grinning.

Edward placed another kiss on my lips, slipping his hand in to mine. "Come on, let's go," he laughed.

"Better get served if we have everyone's money!" Alex spoke.

"Jasper, are you sure this place will be open, it's New Year..." Josh asked.

"It will, it always is... no idea why..."

The walk didn't take long, apart from Alex, Josh and Jasper seemed to be treating it more as a drunken escapade, running up and down the streets, sitting on each others shoulders and yelling in to the night.

Edward and I walked behind them, or hands linked, talking and laughing at the other three.

We were back at the party thirty minutes later, each of us carrying a bag, Edward and Josh carrying two.

I immediately spotted Alice walking in to the kitchen, looking slightly stressed.

"I'll be right back," I whispered to Edward, kissing him quickly before hurrying to catch up with Alice.

"Alice, you okay?" I asked when I got to her.

"Yeah," she breathed, leaning over the kitchen counter that was, for once, not occupied with people. In fact, the kitchen was reasonably empty. "Just trying to make sure nothing gets broken or anything."

"Do you want a hand?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine don't worry," she smiled.

I smiled back. "Happy New Year!" I added.

She beamed, "Happy New Year!" Alice rushed round to the other side of the counter to give me a hug.

"Oh, and I have news too," I spoke over her shoulder.

Alice broke the hug, looking at me curiously. "Go on..."

I tried to keep a straight face, but I just couldn't. "Edward and I are going out," I said quickly.

Alice squealed. "Oh my god, Bella since when?! Why didn't you tell me then? Tell me exactly what happened I want to know!"

My eyes widened at her hurried speech. However, I proceeded to tell her everything.

"Aw, Bella that's so sweet! Finally you're together!"

I nodded. "I'm just so glad I kissed him, otherwise we wouldn't be!"

We talked for a few more minutes before Alice decided to go and check up on the party elsewhere, whilst I went to try and find Rose.

Walking through the house, a glass of clear liquid was shoved in my hand, and I downed it all, passing the glass back to whoever handed it me. Then Alex stepped in front of me.

"Wine?" He asked, smiling. I noticed it as the bottle Edward had bought me.

"Thanks," I grinned, taking the bottle and ducking passed him as he called someone else's name over my shoulder.

Opening the bottle and taking a large drink from it, I continued my search for Rose. _Better not be upstairs_ I thought to myself dryly. However, as I peered out the back door, I spotted her and Emmett curled up on the swing-bench over by the rose bushes.

"Hey!" I staggered on my approach, the clear liquid and wine having gone straight to my head.

Rose eyed me cautiously. "You okay Bells?"

I nodded. "Mhmm!" I sat down next to Rose. "Anyway, I've been looking for you. I have stuff to tell you..."

Rosalie turned to look at Emmett. "Alright, alright, I'm going!" He assured her, holding his hands up above his head.

"No, no! Emmett you can stay!" I laughed, even though the situation really wasn't that funny.

Emmett sat back down as he had already stood up.

"Me and Edward are going out," I beamed.

Rosalie gaped at me. "Bella! Since when?!" She grinned.

I explained the story to both of them.

"Took your time!" Emmett laughed. "Where is that guy, I'm gonna' go speak to him!"

Emmett got up, squeezing Rosalie's hand before he did so.

I passed Rosalie my wine bottle, and she drank whilst I explained in more detail.

"Bella, this is so good; now all we have to do is get Alice and Jasper to admit they're going out!"

I rolled my eyes. "Good luck with that."

At around 4 'o' clock in the morning, I was in Alice's guest room. Most people here were staying the night, and had just chosen to crash wherever they landed when they sat down.

I was lay down on the bed, my head resting on Edward's chest.

"Bella?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about hitting Jacob, I know he's your friend and everything so..."

I laughed. "Edward, the guy's an idiot. I don't even know where he went afterwards anyway."

Edward hesitated. "I just, I didn't want him even touching you. I really like you, Bella. I guess I was just jealous."

I smiled in to his chest. "Edward, _I _didn't want him touching me! I really like you too, and honestly, if it's any consolation, there's no competition between you and Jacob. Never has been."

His chest shook as he laughed lightly. He placed a kiss on the top of my head, and I fell asleep, sheltered under his left arm.

* * *

**A/N: ^_^ they're together!**

**I would like to apologise for the over used phrases: I smiled, he smiled, I beamed, she grinned etc... it was a happy chapter :)**

**Review and tell me what you thought of the chapter and tell me what you thought about New Moon on a message or review!**

**♥**


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